


Infinity

by Dirtyblueballoons



Category: Charlie Bone Series | Children of the Red King - Jenny Nimmo
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-24 14:32:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 161,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13813176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirtyblueballoons/pseuds/Dirtyblueballoons
Summary: After her father is lost at sea, Infinity Jones is sent to go live with family in another country. Soon after, she discovers that she has healing abilities and is forced to attend Bloor's Academy for "Gifted" Children. Upon discovering many secrets about herself and those around her, Infinity is forced to fight for her life against dangerous forces.This is a 50 Chapter Story that can be seen in it's unedited entirety on Fanfiction.net





	1. Family Reunion

Chapter One: Family Reunion

When I was about three years old my mother and father packed up everything we owned and we flew over the ocean. We lived in Bimini for a few short years where my father was a marine biologist studying with a well-respected oncologist on how oil from the liver of sharks could cure cancer. Shortly after results were deemed inconclusive, we became citizens of the United States and moved to California where my father continued to study the marine life off of the coast. He traveled to other parts of the world to continue his studies, leaving my mother and me alone for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Mom went out and made friends and I spent most of my time alone in the house. They home schooled me so I occasionally almost went weeks without seeing another person.

My father was born in Wales and all of his family had passed away before he and my mother even met. He was a good bit older than my mother, and his parents had been old and frail by the time he had received his PhD. My mother's family lived in England. I had a grandma, an aunt, and a cousin that I hadn't seen in years. They never called us nor had my mother ever called them, which is why I was confused as to why we stood on their doorstep exactly three months after my father passed away. His boat had capsized somewhere near Bermuda. His body was never recovered. For some reason my mother warranted this tragedy as an excuse to return home.

We stood on the front porch of a house that resembled a brownstone. A chestnut tree loomed over the house, encasing everything in the shadow of its gnarled and bare branches. Other than where the tree was rooted, there wasn't much of a yard. Everything was silent and still under the snow and I wished someone would answer the door before my fingers froze off. I wasn't used to this kind of cold. We had only lived in warm climates most of my life. "Did you even tell Grandma or Aunt Amy that we were coming?" I murmured.

"Do you think I would just cross the ocean and show up at my sister's doorstep without telling anyone?" My mother narrowed her green eyes at me. Though I didn't say so, I did believe she would do something like that. She was an impulsive and selfish woman. She knocked on the door again. This time someone answered. It was a boy of about twelve with messy chestnut hair and brown eyes. We stood at the same height. "Ah! Charlie!" My mother pulled the boy into a tight hug. "I was beginning to think no one was home." Charlie hadn't even been born yet when we left. I could only imagine how awkward it made him feel to have a woman that he had never met before clutching him to her chest.

"Uh… Hi, Aunt Lillian." He awkwardly mumbled. "Sorry we didn't hear you. We were all in the kitchen and I'm sure you know how loud Maisie is when she cooks." He let us into the house. We stood in the foyer and he took our coats to hang up on the hooks in the wall. "You can leave your boots right under the coats." He motioned to an old beat up rug that sat on the floor. It was slightly damp and muddy from the other snowy boots that had been stored there.

I slipped out of my snow clad boots. It didn't really snow in California this time of year, or hardly ever for that matter. I didn't think of how different England would be. I balled my scarf and gloves into my hat and gingerly followed Charlie into the kitchen where I would be meeting my aunt and grandmother for what felt like the first time. I barely had time to process my surroundings before I had something pink and fuzzy in my face.

"Oh look at you, my sweet girl! Look at how much you've grown!" My grandmother crooned into my hair. She detached me from her pink sweater clad chest to get a better look at me. "You would think with all that traveling and money your father made, your parents would have brought you out to see us at least once."

"I'm sorry, Grandma." I said, not sure what else to say.

"No, don't call me that. It's too formal and makes me feel old. Please, just Maisie. It sounds way more cheerful, don't you think?" Maisie looked back at who I assumed was my aunt Amy.

When I finally saw Aunt Amy, I couldn't look away. It was like looking in a mirror. She stood up, looking just as shocked as I was. I had her straight honey blonde hair and hazel eyes. We had the same waif like body shape, high cheek bones, refined nose and thin lips. "Hi…" She uttered. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Look at you." Her eyes began to well up with tears and I wondered how emotional of a woman she was.

"Amy, stop being so strange." My mother commanded. "Aren't you going to say hello to your only sister?"

"You mean her only sister that just dropped off the face of the earth and took Infinity across the ocean without even warning anyone?" Maisie snapped suddenly. "Didn't you think that we would have liked to have seen her? You could have called or sent pictures. We've had international calling on our phones since you left just in case you chose to call. And I sure know that you had it too with Ailwyn and his traveling."

"I wasn't aware that I had to have my mother's permission to move as an adult." My mother snapped back. "We're moving back now, aren't we?"

"Don't you think Amy and I would have liked to have watched her grow up? I'm not reprimanding you for leaving, I'm upset because you haven't talked to us in almost twelve years."

"Mom, Lillian. Let's not do this today. Dinner is almost done. We can sit down as a family and catch up." Aunt Amy grabbed a bunch of plates. "Charlie, can you go get your uncle and tell him that dinner is done? I'll go set the table."

"Make sure you set it for three extra spaces." Someone commanded from the doorway. I turned my head and saw a woman that reminded me of a scary old witch that should be living alone in the forest who made a habit of eating children rather than standing in a kitchen and barking orders at my family. The woman was gaunt with long white hair braided down her back. She wore a long black dress and had a beak of a nose. "The Yewbeams are coming for dinner."

"Grizelda, I told you that my daughter and granddaughter were going to be here tonight. Why would you go and invite them?" Maisie fumed. "They don't need that kind of hocus pocus here. They haven't been home in twelve years."

"Hocus pocus?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it." My mother and Aunt Amy said in unison. I felt like something was being hidden from me. I was about to question them again when three other women walked into the room. They were all obviously sisters because of how much they looked alike even with hair of all different shades. The youngest (I only assumed so because she had the least amount of wrinkles) had black hair, the middle had steely gray, and the older had hair as white as the witch woman.

"Ah. Is this the one? Infinity?" The gray haired one asked, stepping forward. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, dear. My name is Eustacia. These are my sisters Venetia and Lucretia. You can call us your aunts if you wish."

I stared at them, confused. They had to be Uncle Lyell's family or something. Why did they want anything to do with me? Maisie was hardly able to conceal her anger while she tried to light candles. She kept breaking the matches and muttering under her breath. Charlie took the matchbook from her, struck a match with one swift motion and lit all of the candles at the table while Maisie flicked off the lights.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Paton is sensitive to light." My mother explained.

"Oh, like migraines? Or cataracts?"

"Something like that." The first male voice I had heard in this house said jovially. "Oh… You're all here." The happiness left his voice as he looked at the Yewbeam Aunts. I was taken aback by this man. He was incredibly tall and handsome with wavy black hair and a very deep voice. He had dark brown eyes and did not seem to have cataracts at all. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Paton." He stuck his hand out to me and I shook it. "I hope my sisters aren't bothering all of you."

"She did this on purpose." Maisie murmured under her breath. "It was a mistake telling them that Lillian and Infinity were coming today."

"We have just as much of a right to be here as-" Venetia snarled.

"Enough!" Paton roared. I was confused as to what was going on. Aunt Amy herded Charlie and I into the dining room. He and I took the seats next to each other and sat in silence. The rest of the family made their way into the room and eventually took seats around the meal that Maisie had placed out.

"Mum, I wanted to ask you something." My mother spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate. "I need to go take care of some of Ailwyn's estate and it requires a bit of traveling. I think Infinity is too young and needs to be somewhere settled and in school. Would it be okay if she stayed here with you and Amy for a while?"

Aunt Amy blanched. "It will be a bit of a squeeze. I mean, Charlie is away all week at Bloor's-"

"Charlie is attending Bloor's?" This surprised my mother. "Is he in the… alternative program?" She looked at Charlie, who nodded. Her face turned white and her eyes found Aunt Amy's again. "Amy, can I talk to you for a moment in the other room?"

Both my mother and Aunt Amy left the room. I was beyond confused. "You go to a boarding school?" I asked, making conversation with my cousin. "Like the kind you have to sleep at?"

"Yeah." Charlie looked up at me and gave me a shy smile. "Hopefully you never have to go there. But you're probably safe. You don't have Yewbeam blood."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked. Were only certain families allowed to attend Bloor's Academy?

Grizelda went to open her mouth but Paton shot her a nasty look. Venetia gave me a toothy smile. "They're hiding something from you." She whispered. "If you would like to find out what it is, find a way to meet me in cathedral square tonight." She then stood up. "Sisters, I believe we have caused our dear brother enough trouble for the night. We should take our leave. Maisie's cooking makes me absolutely sick anyway. Are you coming with us, Grizelda?"

"I might as well." Grizelda grumbled. The four women filed out of the room as mother and Aunt Amy returned. This left us to spend more awkward family time together along with Paton, enjoying a meal that I thought was incredibly delicious and that Venetia was just being rude, until my mom decided it was time for her to take her leave as well and abandon me with people I had just met. She was going to stay in a hotel for the night and then leave at the end of the weekend. She didn't tell me why I couldn't stay with her. I think she just wanted me to get used to this new family.

That night, Aunt Amy made Charlie up a bed on the couch and allowed me to sleep in his room. This would pose a challenge for my midnight escape to Cathedral Square, but I held out hope that Charlie was a heavy sleeper.. Venetia had me curious. The only problem is that she didn't take into account that I had no clue where Cathedral Square was. I hadn't lived in this town in years. But once I was sure everyone was asleep, I found myself pulling on a pair of jeans over a pair of leggings, a sweater, my coat and a pair of boots. I stole a glance at the living room to check that Charlie was still asleep. I didn't hear anything so I quickly opened the door and stepped snow had finally stopped falling but it was still below freezing. I quietly tiptoed down the front steps and began to walk down the street. My body was on autopilot. My feet seemed to already know where to go.

When I saw two cloaked shadows standing under a streetlight, I realized how stupid it was for me to sneak out in an area I wasn't familiar with. Especially when I realized one of the cloaked figures was male. But I couldn't stop walking towards them no matter how hard I tried. I stopped in front of Venetia and the unknown man. He was also tall with black hair like Paton, but nowhere near as handsome. He only looked a few years older than me. "I don't know how I got here." I murmured.

"Oh, I gave you a little hand." Venetia unclipped a pin from my coat sleeve. I felt like I had control of my feet again. "This is Manfred. He is going to give you a short history lesson."

"Uh… Okay? In the middle of the night in the dead of winter?" I looked at the boy. He was very thin and pale and even though it was dark, I could tell he had beautiful eyes. They were like sparkling coals. I never knew black eyes could be so beautiful.

"I don't know why I had to come here just to tell this girl something you very easily could have told her." He murmured. "But I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Manfred Bloor. My family owns the academy up near the heights. I'm sure if you were to drive around, you wouldn't miss it. My great grandfather is the owner and my father is the headmaster. It was built on the grounds of a castle that is now nothing but ruins. The castle belonged to a medieval king who we only know as the Red King. A large portion of the city is descended from him. He was a magician and had ten children who each got a piece of his power."

I scoffed. "Magic?"

"I didn't expect you to believe me." He snarled. "Just shut up and listen so I can go home and go to bed. Anyway, his wife died giving birth to his youngest child. He abandoned his children and they all turned against each other. Half were evil, half were good. They all separated to different corners of the earth and started their own families, passing down their powers to their other descendants. Now we run an academy here that takes children who are artistic and academic geniuses as well as other children who are descended from the Red King like myself and Charlie. If you want a better history lesson, go ask Paton Yewbeam. I'm not a fan of the man but he is a very brilliant historian if I remember correctly."

"You made me get out of bed to listen to a fairytail?" I glared at Venetia.

"Now, the real reason I brought Manfred here was proof. Manfred, why don't you show her what you can do? Be careful though, would you? We don't want to turn her brain to apple sauce." Venetia snapped her fingers and Manfred rolled his eyes.

"Look at me." He said, taking my face in his gloved hands, forcing me to look into his eyes. Something about him felt dangerous but I was being pulled to look into them. They sparkled and glistened and I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I felt as if my soul was being pulled from my body. I began to feel dizzy. I grabbed his forearms and tried to look away, but I couldn't. His voice sounded distant and it echoed slightly. I couldn't feel the cold air. I felt like I was beginning to lose my balance and when I couldn't hold myself up anymore, I slumped forward and he caught me, one hand around my waist and the other holding me up under my arm pit. He held me there until I could collect myself and hold my own weight up without any assistance. "Hypnotism. It's a real thing. And Venetia can put magic in clothes. That pin she put in your coat took control of your body so you knew where to go. Charlie can travel through pictures. Paton can make light bulbs explode. And Eustacia is clairvoyant. She seems to think that you have an endowment as well. Now, I'm sure there are other secrets that your family is keeping from you, but that's not our business, at least not at the moment. But before I let you go I do have a quick question for you."

"What is that?"

"Do you remember what Lyell Bone looks like?"

"I saw a photo of him once when I was like ten before my mother misplaced it. I vaguely remember him. Why? Didn't he die around ten years ago or something?"

"Yeah, something like that." Manfred smirked and held out his hand. Although he made me uncomfortable, I decided to do the polite thing and put my hand in his. His grip tightened and I found myself drawn to his eyes yet again…


	2. A Magic Bracelet

Chapter Two: A Magic Bracelet

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through Charlie's bedroom curtains directly into my face. My head was pounding. I felt sick. I couldn't remember what had transpired the night before but I found it strange that I was dressed in layers of clothes and I had socks on my feet. Although I had never been one to drink or party like other teenagers, I was willing to bet that a hangover felt no different than this. When I descended the stairs I could hear my mother, Maisie and Grizelda arguing in the kitchen. "I won't let you subject her to what Charlie has to deal with. You don't even fully know if she's one of those magic kids or not. She's sixteen. Wouldn't that have shown up by now?"

"That's the thing, mom. It has happened a few times when she was younger. The obeah in Bimini weakened it so it wasn't as noticeable, but it's going to come back. That's why I brought her here. That's why I home schooled her all of these years. I would rather her be somewhere that understands what is wrong with her than in a public school where she could accidentallly hurt someone or be labeled a freak. She needs to be with other people like her. That's the main reason I brought her back here." My mother argued back. "I already spoke to the headmaster before Infinity and I even boarded the plane. Not that it has made much of a difference. Dr. Bloor told me that he was informed already."

"Did you tell her any of this? Did you let her make that choice for herself? I know you didn't tell me any of this. You need to think about what you're doing Lillian. I don't even want Charlie there. You need to take Infinity and get her away from that family while you can." Maisie pleaded.

"Either she can go by free will, or they will come after her. And you don't want them to come after her." Grizelda said ominously. "You can't hide an endowed child. Especially now that they have been informed directly. Dr. Bloor is going to send a car for you both to have a meeting with him and get her enrolled. I suggest you keep your nose out of things that you don't understand, Maisie." Grizelda walked into the living room and looked at me. "Oh good, you're awake. You better clean yourself up. A car is being sent for you and your mother. You're going to go look at a new school today."

"Bloor's Academy, right?" I asked. I was met with silence. I frowned and slowly walked to the bathroom. I wished we never came here. I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't believe any of this was possible. I had grown up believing in science and logic, not magic. Now I was being thrown into a world of kings and magical powers. I felt like my life was being turned into a shitty RPG or fantasy novel. Now I was expected to be separated from my mother and go to a boarding school in a country I wasn't familiar in. I had never even attended a school with other students before. I wasn't socially adjusted.

I turned the shower on and let the bathroom fill with steam. Maybe a shower would clear my head a little more. I still felt foggy from last night and I couldn't quite remember what had happened. I remember almost sleep-walking all the way to Cathedral Square and meeting up with Venetia and a boy. I remember what he told me but I couldn't remember his face or how I got home. I just remembered his eyes. They were as black as the night sky and there was something about them that made me uneasy.

When I couldn't stand to be in the shower anymore I finally got out and dried myself off. I yanked a brush through my hair and tied it up into a loose bun, I brushed my teeth and pulled on some clothes. I didn't know if I was expected to dress nicely or not. I decided to go half way and put on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a nice sweater. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom I heard the sound of a car honking its horn in front of the house. Mom ushered me out the doorway and into the car, allowing me to have the front seat. The man driving had long black hair that he pulled back into a ponytail. He had a little facial hair and I couldn't see much more of his face because he had sunglasses on. I couldn't blame him. The sun reflecting off the snow was almost blinding. Something about him seemed familiar but I couldn't place it. "Hi." I said sheepishly. He looked at me with a blank expression. I blushed and looked down at my feet. I had never been good at making eye contact with people.

"You must be one of Harold and Dorothy's sons." My mother said as we began to drive down a street full of beautiful homes decorated with Christmas lights. "I knew your parents years ago. I used to be a wedding planner. It was the nicest wedding that I had ever been a part of. Not that I expected anything less from a Bloor."

The boy didn't say anything. He continued to drive and I watched my mother in the rear-view mirror as she glared at him. If he wasn't going to talk to us, I would instead spend the trip taking in the surroundings. The city was actually really pretty. Some of the plowed roads were still cobblestone or brick and trees were planted along the sidewalks with branches caked with icy snow. It was a nice, late January day. The sun peeked through the naked tree branches and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"You act like you've never seen winter before." The boy finally spoke as we came to a traffic light. I looked at him and returned his cold silence from before.

"Infinity Elizabeth, don't be rude." My mother demanded.

"She's fine." The boy smirked at me and put his foot on the gas. We all sat in silence until he pulled up to an old gray mansion that looked like the setting of some cliché horror film. He parked the car and got out, expecting us to follow him up the steps to the main door of the academy. He pushed open the large door and ushered us inside. "This is the Great Hall. When school is in session, there is no talking here. If you talk, you get detention. And because this is a boarding school, detention means that you are stuck here until Saturday afternoon. You can talk again when you make it into the coat rooms." He waved his hand towards three doors, each with a sign above them. One had two paint brushes, the one next to that one had two trumpets, and the last door had two masks, one happy and one sad. "You'll keep all your books and such in the coat rooms along with your cape during break. All students are required to wear a colored cape that sorts you into one of the departments. All students, including the endowed, are required to be put in one of three departments. The drama students wear purple, the art students wear green, and the music students wear blue. Any questions so far?"

"No." I squeaked nervously.

"Good. You must wear your cape at all times, except for when you have your breaks in the courtyard. All students have to go to the courtyard for exercise. You can walk, run, sit or whatever you please, as long as you do it out there. When you come back in, you put your cape back on or else you get detention. Three square meals will be provided to you every day except for Monday and Friday, unless you are given detention, in which case you'll be provided with Friday night dinner and breakfast on Saturday. Breakfast and lunch are served in cafeterias consistent with your department. Dinner is held in the main dining room with all of the staff. After dinner all endowed students gather together in a room called the King's room to do homework. There, you are supervised by me." He led us into another wing of the mansion and into a sitting room area where we were met by a very large man with steely gray eyes and broad shoulders. His hair was graying at the temples. He kept it slicked back and neat. He stood to greet us and shook our hands.

"Hello! You must be Infinity. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm the headmaster of the academy, Dr. Bloor." He had a very deep, loud voice. I bet he intimidated the other students. "Have a seat and we can get started with the enrollment process. I will be asking you questions on your abilities as an academic as well as some personal questions. My son Manfred will be asking you questions based on your abilities as a child of the Red King.

"Manfred?" I asked, looking over at the boy who drove us here. He removed his sun glasses and stared at me with his dull black eyes. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it.

He winked at me and sat down in an armchair next to his father's chair. My mother and I sat on the couch. Dr. Bloor asked all the normal questions like what my GPA had been, my date of birth, social security, permanent address and other affairs that a sixteen year old probably wouldn't answer for their self so a parent was required to be present. "Do you know which department you want to be in? You may not have the talents that the other students do, but you need to be placed in a department."

"I would go with drama if I were you, Infinity." Mother spoke up. "She has never picked up an instrument and can't draw to save her life. She's incredibly smart though. And she can sing, but that's about it."

"That's the department that I'm in." Manfred noted. "I also believe that it will be a good fit for you."

"I can play the piano." I interrupted. While I had never played an actual piano, my father bought me a keyboard and I was able to teach myself how to play. I was able to plug in headphones while I did so to keep my mother from complaining about the noise. "I would rather be in the music department."

"I really think you should consider the drama department. There are more endowed students your age that can help you." Manfred pressed. It was no use arguing with him so I reluctantly agreed.

"Then you'll have to get a purple cape. The dress code for drama students is a little more lax than it is for other departments. I'll start the work on your schedule and leave you to finish up with Manfred." Dr. Bloor stood up again and walked out of the room leaving me alone with my mother and Manfred.

"So, why don't you tell me about your endowment?" He looked at me.

"She doesn't know anything about it." My mother cut in. "When we lived in the Bahamas, it was suppressed by the obeah. Only the obeah were allowed to practice sorcery.."

"What?" I looked over at her. "I don't remember any of this."

"You wouldn't. The obeah made you forget. She's a…" She whispered the next part. "Witch. That's why we homeschooled her."

"You'll have to be more specific than that." Manfred snapped. "All of us could be considered witches and sorcerers."

I stared at my mom, wondering what I was capable of doing. "Well, it started when she was about four years old. A little girl was bitten by a rabid stray dog on the street. My husband managed to bludgeon it over the head, but the little girl bled profusely all over the street. Medical care in that part of Bimini wasn't that great and my husband and I, the only people around, tried to help the girl, but we couldn't stop the bleeding. An artery was ripped open and she would have died of rabies if not blood loss. There was no way to get her the medical attention she needed in time to save her life. Infinity walked up to her and I tried to stop her, but she put her hand over the girl's arm and whispered something to her and the wound cleared up right before our eyes. The little girl, slightly older than Infinity, thanked her and told her to tell no one what she could do or something bad would happen. And she left." She looked down at her hands. "We were at a loss and Infinity wasn't shy about using her powers. That's when her father took her to the obeah."

I scoffed. "Can I fly, too?"

"Of course not. That's just a folklore thing." Mom shook her head at me. "She's 16 now, and I suspect that now that she knows what she's capable of, her powers will come back much stronger and potentially dangerous."

"Do you know if she can do all spells or just healing?"

"Just healing that I know of."

Manfred looked down at his arm covered by a long black sleeve and rolled it up. The skin was scarred from what looked like burns. "There was a fire here a few months ago. My arm was badly burned in the blaze. A candle was knocked over onto a stack of papers. I didn't catch it in time." He held out his arm to me. "We had herbs to help with the healing and pain, but there wasn't much that could be done about the scarring."

"No." I turned my head away. "I'm not comfortable with any of this. I don't even want to go here. I'm not one of you. My mother keeps saying that she thinks my "powers" are going to come back, but there is no evidence of this. Nothing has changed in my behavior since my father died. I'm handling his death like a normal sixteen year old girl handles losing her father."

"Eustacia says-" My mom interrupted.

"And you're going to make me go here because some woman who barely knows us and allegedly has magical powers says to?" I stood up. "You've been trying to get rid of me since the day I was born, always sending me off with nannies or leaving me home alone all day, and now you're trying to send me off to a boarding school. If you didn't want a daughter, then you should have just left me with Maisie and Amy. They would have taken better care of me than you did. If you want to leave so fucking bad, I'm not going to stop you. You've hardly been a mother to me anyway."

She lunged at me, ready to strike. My mother had a short temper and I had felt the sting of the back of her hand on my face quite a few times in my life. I put my arm up defensively but her hand never made it to my face. When I opened my eyes, she was angrily slamming her palm against some invisible wall and yelling about what an ungrateful brat I was, and how dare I talk to her like that in front of people, or at all for that matter. I looked over at Manfred, who was now smirking at me. I had given him what he had wanted, even if his arm was still burnt. He stood to his feet and rummaged around for something on his father's desk. When he finally found what he was looking for, he turned back to me. "It looks like you belong here after all." He handed me a black folder with "Bloor's Academy" printed in golden letters in the front. "There are 500 questions in there on every general school subject. You'll need to answer them all correctly before you're completely enrolled."

"That's more questions than I had to answer on my PSAT's." I took the folder in my hands and looked up into his eyes. It was as if they suddenly began to sparkle and shine. My memories came flooding back to me. "You… You hypnotized me." I took a step away from him. "Why?"

"You'll learn not to ask so many questions." He turned me around and began to push me towards the door. "I'll take you home so you can get started. My father will give your mother a tour of the academy today, to give her enough time to cool off and we'll give you your tour next weekend."

 

I sat at the dining room table staring down at the plethora of questions in front of me. For some reason, I couldn't focus to save my life. About an hour after I began my attempt at completing this awful packet, Grizelda poked her head in to check on me. "How are your questions coming along?"

"I know all of these," I looked up at her. "But for some reason I can't focus to save my life. I'm so stressed out."

"I made Charlie answer all of these questions by himself because he was never good in school and didn't pay attention. It was for his own good. But your mother has told us how good you've done and how ahead you are so I'll let Venetia help you out." She approached me briskly and sat something down on the table. It was a bracelet made of small tiger eye beads. "Put it on and you should be able to focus enough to get all of those questions done today." She turned on her heel and left. I gingerly took the bracelet in my hands and examined it. She had already tricked me with her magic once before. What if this bracelet took control of my mind and body like the pin did? But the thought of spending a whole week doing nothing but answering questions made me feel sick so I gave in and slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. I found myself filling out answers without even having completely read the questions but I knew they were all correct. Normally, it would have taken me about ten hours split into several days to answer all of these questions, however I managed to finish it after working for four hours. I removed the bracelet as quickly as possible after finishing and hid it in my suitcase where no one would find it. I slipped the folder under Grizelda's door when I was done, as instructed by Manfred during our drive back to Number 9 Filbert Street the day before.

I went back downstairs and found Charlie sitting in the living room watching a show on the history of jousting. He seemed to only be halfheartedly paying attention to it. "Hey." I said, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"Are you done with all of those questions already?" He asked, turning himself on the couch to face me. I nodded and he let out a low whistle. "That was fast. I'm sorry you're stuck going there with me. On the plus side, they put a second bed in my room. I'm used to sharing because of the dorms. I hardly doubt one girl could be as loud as five other boys." He kicked his heel into the back of the couch a few times. "Oh, Aunt Lily called. She wanted you to meet her at the department store when you were done with your questions. I can walk you there if you'd like."

I accepted his offer and we left the house. It was still just as nice as it had been when I had to go to the academy yesterday. It was an unusually calm January, not that I had any problems with it after the winter that this place had just endured. I had read online that it was the coldest winter in years and just as soon as the cold hit, it began to fade away. "I wish I could have grown up here." I found myself saying to Charlie as I looked around. I had been born here and still had a slight accent because of my mother and father, but I had been raised in an entirely different kind of culture. Bimini was completely different from England, and The States were completely different from Bimini.

"You're lucky you got away. There are a lot of terrible things that have happened here. I never knew it before, but going to Bloor's has really opened my eyes to how dangerous the endowed can be." He was silent for a moment. "Um… I'm sorry about your dad." Charlie blurted awkwardly. I looked over at him and smiled softly.

"I'm sorry about yours too."

"He isn't dead." He stated confidently. I didn't know what to say. My mother had told me that he had driven his car into a quarry and died ten years ago. Why would she lie about tfhat? "It's okay. I wouldn't expect you to know that. I just found out this year. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but he isn't dead. They never found a body in the car and I've come across a few clues that prove that he is still alive."

"So…did he leave willingly? Why would he do that?"

"Oh, no. He didn't do that either. The Bloors have him hiding somewhere. I can feel it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in that academy."

"I don't understand. Why would the Bloors take your father?"

"They are an evil family. You'll learn that soon enough. I think my dad knew something that he didn't want them to know. They do terrible things to people and manipulate them to suit their own needs. I'll have to introduce you to my friend Emma Tolly when you start. She knows firsthand how awful they are. She didn't even know who she was until a few months ago because Manfred Bloor hypnotized her and made her live with an awful foster family. They told her that her name was Emilia Moon."

I felt something in the pit of my stomach. "I met Manfred Bloor. And I'm not talking about when I enrolled; I'm talking about the night we showed up at your house." We turned away from Filbert Street and headed towards Cathedral Square. "Venetia slipped some kind of pin into my jacket that made me go to Cathedral Square in the middle of the night to meet her and Manfred, and he told me about the Red King. He then hypnotized me for some reason…" I tried to think of the last thing I remember him saying. "He asked me if I remembered what Uncle Lyell looked like. I told him I vaguely remembered a photo of him that I saw when I was ten, and then I woke up on the couch… I think he took my memory of Uncle Lyell. And if he went through all the trouble to do that, then that must mean that he really is still alive. I could have helped you find him, Charlie. I'm sorry. If I would have seen him before then, I would have been able to place him."

"I…saw you leave that night. I followed you to cathedral square and saw Manfred hypnotize you. He walked you home that night but practically just dumped you on the door step. I had to help you get back into bed." He paused and I could see that he was thinking about something. "You mentioned seeing a picture of my father. All of the ones that my family had disappeared. Do you happen to know if you still have that picture of him?" He looked so hopeful. I shook my head and his face fell again. We walked the rest of the way to Kingdom's in silence and met my mother, who was standing in the front with bags. She had obviously already finished shopping.

"Infinity! Charlie!" She called us over, waving her free arm. When we approached her, she handed me the bags. All of the hostility that I had seen in her face the day before was long gone. She was putting on some kind of cheerful facade and it made me worry. Although wary of my mother's intentions, I still examined the contents of the bag. There was a violet colored cape inside. It looked like it was made with very expensive fabric.

"Your uniforms are stupid." I looked over at Charlie. "Can't you just have colored blazers? Why capes? And why the different colors? Is it really important to know which departments everyone is in?" Charlie shrugged and I rummaged through the other bag. There were black pleated skirts, white long-sleeved dress shirts, black fleece tights and black sheer tights, purple ties and two gray cashmere vests. I handed the bags back to my mother, who seemed very pleased with herself.

"I also got you all new toiletries and towels and pajamas. But they're in your new luggage trunk in the car." She smiled.

"What car?" I looked around and my heart dropped into my stomach. The Bloor's shiny black car sat near the curb. "Why did you have me come here if you already did all the shopping?" I asked slowly as the door opened. Manfred Bloor and a large bald man stepped out of the car and headed towards me. She was forcing me to go a whole weekend early? Bloor's academy's break was still going on. When I looked over at Charlie, his panicked look mirrored my own. He took off down the street like a bat out of hell, which only panicked me further. "You can't force me to do anything." I murmured, taking a step back. My mother reached forward to snatch me by my coat and Manfred quickened his pace. I needed to get away immediately. If they were making me go this early, than that meant they had plans for me. Manfred had hypnotized me once and I had been powerless to stop it. I didn't want to give him the opportunity to do it again.


	3. Salem

Chapter Three: Salem

I didn't know what kind of awful things that my mother and the Bloors had planned for me, so I ran. I think that their interest in me had something to do with Uncle Lyell because I remembered him, even if it was faintly. They didn't want to take that risk and have me ruin everything that they had worked for in the past ten years. I managed to hide in an alley between two nearby buildings and evade their line of vision for just a few moments so I used that time wisely and slipped into a book store across the street and hid amongst the shelves. If they were trying so hard to make sure I wouldn't recognize Uncle Lyell, that meant they were hiding him close. Somewhere where Uncle Paton and Aunt Amy wouldn't see him, but somewhere that I might. He had to be in the academy. Charlie had been correct. They were hiding him right in front of his face. I heard the bells above the door jingle not to far behind me and I tried my hardest to squeeze myself between a bookshelf and a wall.

"What brings you here today, Manfred?" A soft voice nervously stammered. The voice sounded very young and feminine.

"I'm looking for someone." Manfred sneered. I heard him moving around. "Did a blonde girl with a red coat come in here?"

"No." She squeaked. She sounded absolutely terrified. "Please leave. No one has come in for a while."

"I think you're lying to me, Emma Tolly." Manfred's voice got closer to my hiding place. I held my breath and tried to push myself further into the crevice. Emma Tolly was the name of the girl Charlie told me was hypnotized so deeply that she forgot her own identity. No wonder she sounded so afraid. "Do I need to get the truth out of you?" Manfred threatened.

I exhaled sharply and stepped out from my hiding place. I didn't want to subject Charlie's friend to any more trauma than she had already endured at the hands of the Bloor family. My sudden presence behind Manfred had startled him a bit, but he tried to hide his surprise with a mask of anger. "Leave her alone. I'll go with you." I resigned. I looked over at Emma Tolly, a very tiny, fair skinned girl. She had large blue eyes and she wore her corn silk colored hair in braids. She couldn't have been older than ten years old, yet Manfred threatened her so easily. He grabbed my arm with his bony fingers and yanked me out of the bookstore. "I would have gone with you willingly if you wouldn't have intimidated me by approaching the way you did." I hissed as he forced me into the car. I shot my mother my most hateful look before driving away.

I stayed silent in the car the whole way to the academy. The angry looking bald man drove and Manfred kept peeking back at me through the rear-view mirror. "You're not going to be a problem like your cousin, are you?" He asked finally. I looked down at my hands and remained silent. "You are supposed to answer when someone speaks to you, Miss Jones."

I always found it weird that my mother hyphenated her last name when she married my father, but when I was born she gave me her maiden name rather than hyphenating it like she did hers, or just giving me my father's name. Part of me was grateful not to have two ridiculous names. When I asked my father why he named me Infinity he told me it was because he waited for me forever. My mother had fertility issues and had been told that she couldn't conceive. I never understood why she ignored me when she went through all that trouble to have me. In-vitro was expensive and not 100% effective, but she still ignored me and my father still traveled a lot for work.

I continued to give Manfred the cold shoulder as we pulled up to the academy. "Could you take her trunk to her room, Weedon?" He asked the bald man. The bald man nodded. "Alright, it's time for your tour. You already know where the coatrooms and great hall are. I'll just show you some of the important parts of the academy that your student mentor won't show you when they give you the tour on Monday. Then I will show you to your dormitory." I only half listened to the things he told me. I hardly cared about the origin of the carpet, or the fact that the stair railings were master crafted, or that students traveled from far and wide for the opportunity to attend the academy. I was trying to remember Uncle Lyell's face. That was the single most important thing to me in that moment. I had to recognize him if I saw him. Little details stuck out to me. I remembered that he had black hair, but not much else. A lot of people had black hair. That would hardly help me. "And this is the music tower." Manfred placed a hand on my shoulder when we got to one of the two towers of the academy. I could hear piano music. It piqued my interest and he could tell. "Ah, that's just Mr. Pilgrim. Some of the staff live here, such as Dr. Saltweather, Mr. Pilgrim, Cook, Mrs. Marlowe and so on. I'm sure Dr. Saltweather is up there if you would like to meet the head of the music department."

I silently followed him up the stairs and found a room with only a piano and sheet music splayed all over the floor. The man at the piano looked like he hadn't slept in years. He had messy black hair and sad chestnut eyes with large bags under them. A large beard had started to take over his face and didn't seem professional for someone who worked at such a prestigious school. His disheveled appearance alluded that he had seemingly given up on life. Manfred cleared his throat and the man stopped playing long enough to acknowledge us. He opened his mouth to speak, but a big booming voice came from somewhere else. "What are you doing up here, young lady? Who are you?"

I turned to face a very large, broad shouldered man with stark white slick backed hair and a white beard well groomed close to his face. He seemed kind enough. "This is Infinity Jones." Manfred spoke for me. "I was just showing her around. She's one of the new endowed students. She's Charlie Bone's cousin."

"A pleasure to meet you, young lady. My name is Dr. Saltweather and this is Mr. Pilgrim." He held out his hand and I shook it. He had a strong grip. "Hopefully you are a better musician than your cousin."

"She isn't a musician." Manfred corrected. "She is in the drama department."

"Then why are you showing her the music tower?" He raised a thick, white eyebrow.

"It's better to feed her curiosity now when the academy is empty than having her wander off during school hours. I wanted her to see everything. I even showed her the old art tower." He steered me towards the door. "Now I must show her to her dormitory so she can get some rest before the other students arrive tomorrow." We walked back down the stairs and headed towards the dormitory section. He took me to the girl's floor where the drama students resided. We stopped in front of the room at the end of the hall that had a piece of paper tacked to it. It was a list of the residents of the room. My name was the last of six. "Zelda Dobinski will be the one showing you everything tomorrow. She's an endowed senior just like you. And she's sixteen just like you. I'm sure you both will get along just fine." He opened the door and I stepped inside. There were six beds in the room. Each had a wardrobe and an end table on either side. The beds had brass frames and purple duvets and sheets. The room was illuminated by a single bare lightbulb in the center. There was a door that led to what I assumed were the bathrooms. "Your bed is the one on the end right there." He pointed to the bed by the large window that had been curtained with thick, stuffy drapes. My trunk was at the foot of the bed.

"For a rich family, these rooms sure do look horrible." I scoffed while I pulled my coat closer around me. This room seemed to have almost no heat. I turned my head to look at him, but he was gone. I shrugged it off and decided I might as well unpack my things. I had nothing else to do for the night but hang around this boring and empty room. I hung all my clothes neatly on the rack in the wardrobe and put my underwear in the drawer. I organized all of my toiletries on the top shelf of the wardrobe and organized my shower caddy. Somewhere in the time that I had spent organizing, the heat had finally kicked on that the room felt a little more comfortable. I wondered if they just cut the heat to certain rooms in the weekend to save on utilities despite the revenue that came in from tuition.

I decided to pass some more time by painting my nails and braiding my hair into a fishtail braid. I changed into a big comfy sweater and leggings for warmth and even redid my makeup in the bathroom mirror and wiped it off again. It wasn't even five in the evening yet. I sighed and walked up to the window, wondering if it at least had a decent view.

It didn't. It was just a massive courtyard full of muddy snow with a destroyed castle a little off to the side. The walls looked like they were made of bright red brick. I'm sure it was beautiful in it's prime, but now it was quite an eye sore. I sighed and scanned the rest of the scenery. It was bare besides a few trees, a cracked stone fountain that had been drained for the winter, and a wood pile with a young man leaning up against it.

A surge of curiosity and bravery made me decide to go meet this boy. I slipped on my boots and decided I was going to try to find the entrance to this courtyard and meet this new stranger. I hadn't been able to see most of his features but I did notice his messy black hair and his bright orange hunting jacket. He was pretty hard to miss with such a bright, reflective color. I wondered if he was a Bloor, another unfortunate student stuck here on the weekend, or if he happened to be a ghost. I had no doubt that this place was haunted. I couldn't imagine how many people died confined in these walls, and maybe with my alleged endowment, I could see ghosts too. This seemed like the kind of place that would have a torture dungeon in the basement or an evil magician's lab in the attic.

I don't know how I found the courtyard doors but I did. I figured that they had to be somewhere in the great hall, most likely across from the main doors by the coatrooms. That architecturally made the most sense to me. On my way there, I picked out little landmarks such as certain paintings or statues. I had to remember how I got there so I knew how to get back to my room before I was caught by Manfred or any of the other staff. I pushed the heavy iron door open and slipped outside. It had cooled down considerably and it would be getting dark in a few hours. I wondered why this boy was out here. I scanned for him and didn't see him anywhere. The log pile had been vacated and chills went up my spine. I felt like I was being watched. What if he really was a ghost? This thought made me shiver again. After looking around for a few minutes and finding nothing, I turned to go back inside when I walked straight into something sturdy. I shrieked out of surprise and fear. "Whoa, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." The voice was strong and warm. I looked up into a pair of dark blue eyes that were not unlike a stormy sky.

The boy who stood in front of me wasn't bad looking at all, especially with the snow glittering in his dark, shaggy hair. He was about the same height as Manfred, but he had a little bit more weight on him. He had high cheek bones and beautiful teeth. He had many features of Dr. Bloor, but he seemed to be much more pleasant and friendly. "I'm sorry. I just got bored and wanted something to do. I shouldn't be here-"

"I'm not going to get you in trouble." He let out a lighthearted chuckle. "You must be Miss Jones. I'm Salem Bloor." He held out his hand and I gingerly tried to shake it. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He was charming and seemed to be very sweet. I liked him instantly. "Why I don't I walk you back to your room? I don't want you to get in trouble for being out late."

I nodded and he held the door open for me. "Oh. Thank you." I murmured as I stepped through it and back into the academy. I looked back at the ruined castle from over my shoulder and thought I saw another person standing right by the broken down entrance. Before I could get a good enough look Salem shut the door and locked it with a key he retrieved from his pants pocket. I decided to just ignore what I saw and follow Salem down the hallway. I didn't want to ask him too many questions since he was being kind enough to keep me from getting in trouble.

"My dad told me that you're from America. What's it like?" He asked, looking over his shoulder presumably to make sure I was still following him and not wandering off to some area where I could cause mischief and uncover something I wasn't supposed to. "As soon as I graduate I want to go to California and make a name for myself. I play guitar. Have you ever been to California?"

"I lived in California for quite a few years. There's a lot more sun than there is here, that's for sure." Of course I had nothing else to talk about so I had to babble about the weather. "Are you in the music department, then?" I asked stupidly. My many years of isolated homeschooling was beginning to show. I didn't have much experience talking to anyone my age other than people in online forums. That was how I got my socialization fix.

"Yes I am." He said proudly. "I wasn't told what department you were put in." I went to answer him but he put his arm up to hush me. "No, don't tell me. I want to guess." He turned to face me and started walking backwards. "Did Manny want you put in Drama?"

"Manny?" I gave Salem a strange look. I had a feeling that Salem had to be Manfred's brother, but I had a hard time imagining someone as deadpan as Manfred would allow anyone to call him by a nickname.

"You know, Manfred. Tall, mean kid with the creepy sparkling eyes? He's my brother."

"Yeah…He was rather insistent that I go with drama despite the fact that I can play an instrument." I frowned.

"That means he wants to keep an eye on you. He thinks you're going to be a problem. Are you going to be a problem, Miss Jones?"

"Why would I be? I just want to graduate and get out of here as soon as possible, which I can do in just a few short months. I haven't been in an actual school my whole entire life. I don't know why I have to be here now." I snapped. I expected Salem's demeanor to change, but his humor and goofy personality didn't falter.

"You're a feisty one. I'm just giving you a hard time. Lighten up a little, okay? This place will eat you alive if you insist on being so brooding and solemn." He turned back around to watch where he was walking, but slowed his pace so he was walking beside me rather than ahead of me. "I should give you a little run down on what it's like to be an endowed student here, though. Because it's actually kind of dangerous sometimes depending on whom you associate with." Salem suddenly froze and put his arm out to stop me from walking. Somewhere in the academy, I could hear muffled conversation and the sound of a door being slammed. "Shit. Follow me." He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a nearby storage closet and closed it. "Be quiet. I think I hear my brother walking around. He'll kill me if he knows I didn't punish you for sneaking around here." He pressed his ear against the door and motioned for me to do the same.

"I swear I saw her come outside. She's a blonde, right? Red coat?" Someone said, coming closer to the door. "Salem took her back in though. Knowing him, he probably just let her wander around. She's going to get into something she shouldn't." This voice didn't belong to Manfred. It was a little bit higher than his, and he spoke faster. It was definitely an adolescent male, though.

"I never know whose side he's on. He's too lax with all of the endowed students. We need to keep an eye on Infinity, though. She isn't going to be easy to sway. She's already leery of me." I could hear Manfred's voice getting closer to the door. "Now are you sure you heard something over here?"

"I swear. Salem isn't exactly quiet." The other voice kept getting closer and closer to the door. Salem pulled me back further into the closet and hid amongst a variety of fabrics. This must have been one of the prop storages for the drama department. He put his hand over my mouth and nose as the door opened and light flooded into the closet. I couldn't breathe.

**Hold your breath.** Salem commanded. **He'll hear you if you breathe.** The volume of his voice was normal. It should have given away our hiding place, but it didn't. How did we go undetected? **I'll explain once he leaves. Just stay quiet.**

Just when I thought I couldn't hold my breath any longer, Manfred's voice pulled his companion away from our hiding spot. "They must be hiding in the auditorium. Let's go."

"You're probably right." The second voice was only centimeters from us. He quickly retreated and shut the door. Salem and I remained frozen in place for a few more minutes before we were confident enough to run out of the closet and towards the dormitories. We didn't stop until we made it in front of my door and we both struggled to catch our breath.

"Oh, man." He leaned against the wall. "I haven't been able to run like that since before chemo." I was confused. He seemed to be in great shape and didn't seem like someone who had to undergo chemotherapy. My confusion must have been obvious. "I had a medulloblastoma. Brain tumor." He clarified. "I've been in remission for a few years." He reached for the doorknob and opened the door. "Although as exciting as cancer is, I'm sure more of your interest lies in me being able to project into your thoughts. Telepathy is a confusing thing." Telepathy? Salem's endowment allowed him to get into my mind at any time. I suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"And you have some explaining to do with why you didn't punish her for leaving her room." Manfred's voice hissed from around the corner. He had been waiting in my room for our return.

"Shit." Salem sighed. "Don't yell at her, Manny. It's my fault. I asked her to come down. I saw her looking at me through the window and told her to come down and meet me."

"Don't call me that!" Manfred growled. He beckoned for us to enter the room and we submitted. He crossed his arms and I suddenly felt very small. I felt like another session of hypnosis was coming my way for punishment. He stared directly into Salem's eyes and I began to worry that he would be hypnotized as well. However, that wasn't the case. Salem confidently stared back into his eyes and mimicked Manfred by crossing his arms as well. "You disgust me." It was Manfred that finally broke eye contact.

"The feeling is mutual, brother." Salem winked at him and sat down on one of the beds. I awkwardly stood by the door. I wouldn't hesitate to run if Manfred turned that gaze on me. There was no way I would allow my brain to be scrambled like that again. "You don't have to be so rude to our guest, you know."

"She isn't a guest. She's a student, and I'll treat her exactly how I treat everyone else. Maybe I'll be nicer if she stops causing trouble."

"Causing trouble?" I spoke up. "I haven't done a thing to you. You hypnotized me and then chased me down the road, trying to shove me into your car. If you would work on your approach maybe I wouldn't be so standoffish towards you. It's your own fault I'm causing trouble. Most people don't like to be manipulated, you know."

"Jesus, you have to buy them dinner first." Salem joked. I rolled my eyes and he laughed again. "She has a point, you know. Intimidation doesn't always result in compliance." He ran his hand along the duvet. "This is exactly why Manny doesn't like me as much as I like him. He can't manipulate me like he does everyone else. I'm not afraid of him. I've known him my whole life, after all." He stood up from the bed and tried to put his arm around Manfred's shoulder but he ducked away. Seeing them side by side made me realize something. They were twins. And if it weren't for different life style choices, it would have been more obvious that they were identical. Same facial features but different at the same time. Salem just happened to be a lot more approachable and that made him more attractive to me. "Ah, she figured it out." His eyes lit up and he smiled at his brother. "Yep. Manny and I are twins. We shared the womb. Lucky for him, I was the only one who had cancer."

"Quit looking at me like that." Manfred barked. "Let's go." He pointed a finger at me. "You, stay in your room. Don't come out again. I promise it won't be Salem that finds you next time."

"Fine, fine." Salem glanced back at me one more time. "Goodnight, Miss Jones. It has been a pleasure."

The Bloor twins made their leave and left me to sit alone in the creepy and bare dorm room. I wasn't looking forward to my first day of school. I plopped down on my own bed and stared up at the ceiling. There was literally nothing for me to do. I wasn't allowed to bring my iPod or my cell phone. From behind the bathroom door, an old faucet dripped into the sink. My decent into agonizing boredom began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem communicates via telepathy quite often. His communications with others will be in **bold** while the narrator's communications with him will be in _italics_.


	4. Amber Eyes

Chapter Four: Amber Eyes

My wake up call on the first day of school was far from pleasant. I was woken up by a loud and repetitive bang on my bedroom door. I rolled out of bed and shouted "I'm up!" and stumbled into the bathroom. I was exhausted. I had barely slept at all that night and continuously tossed and turned on my uncomfortable mattress. Each time I tried to move, the bed would squeak loudly. I wasn't looking forward to hearing those sounds multiplied by five when the other girls arrived.

I stepped into one of the shower stalls and was pelted in the face with cold water when the old pipes groaned to life. The water never did get hot. I just washed my hair and body as fast as I could and stumbled out. The tile was cold on my feet while I padded back to my wardrobe and pulled on my uniform. My hair dried quickly and I was able to tie it up in a messy bun. I didn't bother with makeup and ran out the door and down to the coatroom.

I don't know what I expected. Dr. Bloor wasn't kidding when he said that the dress code for drama was interpretive compared to the other departments. There were people with feather boas and big hats and glittery shoes. I stuck out like a sore thumb. At this point, I didn't care and gathered all my things. My locker opened easily enough and all my supplies were sitting inside neatly. My schedule was posted on the inside of the door.

The room behind me was full of liveliness and chatter from the students who were actually happy to be here. Their attendance at this school meant that they were all the best at what they did. They were exceptional artists, performers and musicians and had nothing to worry about. The Bloors left them alone and let them live their lives in peace assuming they didn't try to interfere with their evil agenda. None of them were ripped out of their homes overnight, hypnotized into submission or forced to be here. Salem's endowment was very powerful as well. I wondered if he had a hand in any of the terrible things that his family did. It would only make sense that he was a master manipulator to boot.

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder that ripped me out of my thoughts. When I turned around, a mean looking girl stood behind me. Much like me, she was way too skinny. Her skin was snow white and all of her features were bony and pointed. I was jealous of how beautiful and perfect her hair was. While the rest of her was kind of average, she had the most beautiful and shiny jet black hair I had ever seen. It was long and curly and she seemed to take really good care of it. She was a little bit taller than me, but I was sure that she and I were the same age. "I'm Zelda Dobinski. They placed you in some of the same classes as me so I can show you around." She stated matter-of-factly. "If you don't have a class with me, you'll be with Manfred or Asa Pike. I'm in college level math classes and it seems that you're only smart enough for trigonometry. Huh. I thought they told me you were advanced."

"Do you talk down on everyone you just met?" I asked, shutting my locker. "I don't need your help. I can find everything on my own, I'm sure." Nothing got on my nerves more than being talked down to. I wouldn't stand for it. If this is what I was going to have to hear all day, I would take my chances wandering the halls blind.

"Unless you want to be stuck here another weekend, I suggest you follow me." Zelda narrowed her eyes. I just sighed and gave in and followed her around for the first three classes of the day. I mostly ignored her when she spoke because of her snide comments and I couldn't wait until I could get away from her.

My prayers were answered when we were approached by someone different right before my free period. It was a boy. He was just a little bit taller than me, maybe by three inches. He had bright red hair that stood up in a rough spiked look and it showed off that his ears were pointed. I wondered if it was surgical or natural. He had a nice enough face that was dotted with freckles and a bit of facial hair that was the same color as the hair on his head. He had yellow wolf like eyes that I was almost positive were contacts.

"Your turn to babysit." Zelda said quickly, before turning to walk away. I just rolled my eyes at her.

"I don't need to be babysat. It's fine." I growled, quite sick of my treatment. I didn't want to be treated the same way by him, too.

"Hey, it's fine." He put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm Asa. I promise I'm not as mean as Zelda is. She probably just thinks you're going to steal her boyfriend or something." He had a goofy smile that showed off his teeth. His canine teeth were sharper than the average human's and his two front teeth were slightly crooked.

"She has a boyfriend?" I snorted and returned his smile.

"Yup. Manfred." He motioned for me to start walking with him. "We're going to spend free period in the library, if that's okay with you. I don't have anything else to do, and I'm guessing you don't either considering you just had dramatic arts classes so far."

"Yeah, I have a pretty easy schedule so far. I don't need very many more credits before I can finally graduate, so Dr. Bloor just mostly put me in drama classes so I at least have something to show for being in the drama program."

Asa held the door open for me when we got to the library and I thanked him. He climbed up the stairs all the way to the second floor of the library and I followed behind. "The second floor is only for seniors." He murmured, looking around. "I come up here because there's a few couches and it's usually abandoned except for midterms and finals." He threw his stuff down on the coffee table and lounged out on the leather couch. "C'mon. I won't bite. Sit down. I haven't gotten to hear very much about you." I sat down on the couch next to Asa and he wasn't shy at all. He put his legs out on my lap and folded his hands behind his head. "I heard you were from the states. California, specifically?" He smiled at me again, but instead of the goofy smile he gave me earlier, this one was incredibly charming. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and I couldn't even answer him. I just tried to stammer something out, eventually gave up and just looked down at my hands. I could feel my face turning red.

I had thought Salem was attractive, but I began to instantly feel something for Asa. I couldn't explain it. I didn't know a thing about him and I was already beginning to develop a crush. I think it was because Salem was attractive in a very put-together way, not to mention that he dripped with charisma. Asa was more down to earth and didn't mind having flaws. He didn't try to keep himself put together or impress anyone. "I'm sorry." I finally murmured. "I'm an idiot. I don't know how to talk to people, really. I was home schooled my whole life."

"It shows." He removed his feet from my lap and sat up. "I'm awkward with people too, actually. Everyone just kind of looks at me and instantly knows something is off and I'm not like everyone else." His hand instinctively came up and he fumbled with his ear. "It's just easier talking with people like me, that's why I don't come off as socially awkward like you."

"Oh, thanks." I rolled my eyes and laughed. "So, you're a freak like me? What are you? A werewolf or something?" I joked.

This time a blush crept to Asa's face rather than mine. "It's that obvious, isn't it? Because of that, I never had a very normal childhood. I could never stay the night with friends and I eventually stopped having friends all together until my family moved here and I met Manfred. I mean, he treats me like shit most of the time but he has his moments when he's an okay guy. He takes care of my family because we don't have much money. My parents aren't exactly completely human so they can't work."

"What?" I was puzzled. Asa was pretty much human at least during the day. What kind of weird creature could have spawned him?

"My parents are merromals. We're descended from the king's son Carfal. He was a shapeshifter and he went and explored a land far away and took a merromal for a wife. They're pretty much a beast and human hybrid. They all look different, some look more human than others. My dad is covered in hair while my mom looks a little more human. They stand upright and speak English and are quite intelligent though. I guess you'd have to meet them to understand that they are quite human, just a little… off."

"I had a pretty shitty childhood too but my parents were completely human." I said. Asa looked up at me, grateful that I wasn't repelled by the personal information he had just given me. "I never knew that there was something wrong with me, but with hindsight being 20/20, I understand why my parents kept me secluded like they did. I wasn't allowed to go to normal school and after a while I stopped desiring face-to-face social interaction and just talked to people on the internet. My parents weren't around very much. Dad was always away doing research and mom ran around with her friends. I never got any affection, really."

"That's so awful. I mean, they had to go through a lot to get you and then once they realized you weren't normal, they just started treating you like shit without even telling you why."

I looked up at Asa and furrowed my brow. "How did you know that my mom had to go through in vitro?"

His face blanched. "Uh… Your mom told Manfred. Manfred told me. I don't know why. It's just an arbitrary detail that he decided to mention. I don't know why. Really."

"I was so taken aback by the fact that you decided to nonchalantly slip in that your parents are beast people that I forgot that you mentioned you were friends with Manfred. Why are you being so nice to me when he and Zelda are so mean?"

"I promise Zelda will warm up to you eventually. She's just intimidated that there's a new endowed girl. She's really insecure and thinks that Manfred will leave or something stupid like that. Once she realizes that you're entirely appalled by him she'll probably be nicer. And Manfred is just extra nasty right now because he just lost his mother. Don't tell him I told you."

I frowned. "I actually just lost my dad. His boat was lost at sea a few months ago. Why does Salem seem to be taking it so much better?"

"Mrs. Bloor didn't pass away. I guess I phrased that a bit strangely. She disappeared into thin air. Salem is happy for her because she was unhappy here and wanted nothing more than to get away. Manfred is bitter because he feels abandoned. He's backwards with affection. He simultaneously loved and hated her. Last time she tried to run away, Manfred broke every single finger in her hand." Asa looked down at his own hand and grimaced.

We spent the rest of free period finding more cheerful and less serious things to talk about. It turned out that we had the same taste in movies and he was a total foodie like me. He told me about all the good restaurants in the city and what movies were playing at the multiplex downtown. When the period ended, I was handed off to Manfred to go to my English class. He sat down in the back of the room and pointed at the desk next to him. I wordlessly sat down.

"You and Asa seemed to hit it off." He said while other students began to file into the room. We still had five minutes before class began.

"You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar, Manfred. You'd do well to follow in his example." I didn't look away from the front of the room. I was afraid to make eye contact with him. I heard him snort at my suggestion and tap his pencil on his desk. "You wouldn't lose people you care about if you didn't try to control them."

"Really? Well, Miss Jones, you'd do well to mind your own damn business about things that have nothing to do with you."

"Only if you pay me the same courtesy." I retorted bravely.

"You better learn your place, and you better learn it fast. You'll find out soon enough what happens to people who don't do what is expected of them." I could hear the malice in his voice.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Drive a car into a quarry and tell my family that I'm dead?" I turned to face him and we both stood to our feet. "You're not going to terrify me into submission, Manfred. I'm not afraid of you."

He put his finger in my face. "You're just as much trouble as your cousin." He snarled.

"Hey." Our exchange of loud and angry words was interrupted by Salem, who took the seat in front of me. "Both of you stop it. You're not being brave, you're being reckless." He pointed at me. "And you need to calm down." He pointed to Manfred. "You're both instigating each other and you're causing a scene. You're supposed to be an example, Manfred. Start acting like one." He turned back around to face his desk, leaving Manfred and I to just stare at each other, inches from each other's faces. Although I was foolish enough to look into Manfred's eyes, I happened to notice that he wasn't trying to hypnotize me. I wasn't sure if it was because Salem's words stuck with him, or if he knew better than to flaunt his endowment in a room full of unendowed. We quietly took our seats and refused to speak to each other for the duration of the period.

 

During dinner I took a seat between Asa and some other kid I didn't know. We spent dinner ignoring the people around us and discussed Spielberg movies. I learned that his favorite was Saving Private Ryan and of course mine was Jaws considering I had grown up knowing everything that there was to know about sharks.

"Didn't that make you nervous?" He asked me.

"No. I knew that no shark was that unnaturally aggressive or intelligent enough to cause a mass murder like the shark in Jaws did. It was loosely based off of a shark off of the Jersey shore that killed dozens of people, but that shark never picked apart a massive boat full of three men who knew what they were doing." I pushed around the soggy meat on my plate. The food here was disgusting but I knew I couldn't be too picky unless I wanted to starve to death.

"Look alive. Dr. Bloor is coming over to embarrass you in front of the whole academy." Asa nodded his head towards the aisle that Dr. Bloor walked down. He stopped and said something to his sons and continued to me.

"Ah. Just who I was looking for. How was your first day, Miss Jones?"

**Make sure you call him "sir". He's already grumpy over hearing about the very public fight you and Manny had in front of the normal students. Be respectful, not stupid. I'm begging you.** Salem's voice projected into my head. I saw him staring at me from his spot at the head of the music table.

"It was fine, sir." I murmured. I tried my hardest to make eye contact with Dr. Bloor but he was incredibly intimidating and made me feel very small and insignificant. "Thank you for asking."

"Why don't you stand up, Miss Jones?" I silently complied and Dr. Bloor turned to address the whole dining room. "Can I have everyone's attention?" His thunderous voice bounced off of the walls and the room became eerily silent. "This is Infinity Jones, a new student in the drama department and one of the endowed. " I felt my face turn red as judging and accusing eyes bore into me at all angles. Why did he feel the need to announce that I was a freak? I was hoping to have a chance to try and seem at least a little bit normal.

"Can I sit down now?" I murmured.

"There's no need to be embarrassed!" He put his hand on my shoulder. "What you are able to do is a beautiful and powerful thing! It means you are descended from royalty."

I scanned the room and found Charlie sitting with the music students. He shot me a sympathetic look and mouthed "I'm sorry". Dr. Bloor finally let me sit down and I wasn't in the mood to talk for the rest of dinner.

"Everyone would have found out eventually anyway." Zelda said, leaning forward to make sure that I could hear her over the other students. "It's better that everyone is wary of you now than if they found out later on and just started ignoring you completely. Plus he has to announce it for the safety of others. They deserve to know if one of us is potentially dangerous. Some people have really powerful endowments that they can't control when they get angry, like Asa, Salem and myself. Then there are people like Manfred who can't do harm unless he can make eye contact with you or like Charlie, who can't exactly hurt anyone with is endowment either."

"How can you hurt someone with telepathy?" I asked.

"Salem isn't just telepathic. He can alter your thoughts, memories and even your dreams. He can make himself manifest into them if he knows you're asleep, though he actively avoids doing that. Says dreams are especially private and they freak him out. He could drive you mad if he wanted to, though. He doesn't even have to make eye contact. And he never forgets anything at all." Asa pushed his food around onto his plate. "We're lucky that it's Salem that has that gift and not Manfred. He rarely uses it except for communication. He's afraid to abuse his power. He doesn't think it's fair to take advantage of someone like that."

When dinner was finished, Zelda asked me to follow her to the coatroom to grab some things before we would head to the Red King's room where the endowed students were segregated for homework. I reluctantly agreed because walking with Manfred was the alternative. We weaved our way through the other students. "I guess I should apologize for being so mean to you before." She said finally as we walked. "Everyone has just been singing praises about your potential and I guess I was worried."

"Singing praises about my potential?" I snorted and shook my head at her. "They have barely witnessed anything. I accidentally created a ward in front of them to stop my mother from beating the shit out of me. I didn't even know that I could do it."

"Asa told me you didn't have a very good relationship with your parents. None of us really do either. Manfred had problems with is mother, Salem can't get along with his father and my parents just interact with me as minimally as possible. I've tried to do everything to impress them. I'm a telekinetic genius and that still isn't enough for me to be noticed." She let out a nervous chuckle as we rounded the corner to enter the coatroom. "But I know none of this can be easy for you, with your father passing away and your mother just dropping you off in an unfamiliar country with a family you barely know and then taking off."

"I'm used to handling things on my own. I always have." I watched Zelda remove a few things from her locker and caught a young girl staring at me. It was her hair that caught my eye. It was bleached blonde with bright pink underneath. Her eyes were rimmed with black winged eye liner and glittery gold eye shadow. She wore dangerous looking purple stiletto heels and her nails were perfectly manicured. She dressed like an older girl but I figured she couldn't have been older than thirteen. She smiled at me and waved before ducking out of the room. She seemed to be avoiding Zelda. I wondered if she was endowed as well.

After Zelda gathered the supplies she needed, we finally arrived to the King's room with everyone else. We were the last two to show up. Several students sat at the large round table in the center of the room. Manfred sat in front of a massive painting of a man that I could only assume was the Red King. He had long brown hair and a beard, one black eye and one brown eye. His skin was dark, he wore a beautiful red cloak and there was a shadow over his right shoulder that gave what was supposed to be a simple portrait a very ominous feel.

There was one empty seat to Manfred's left that Zelda quickly filled and Asa sat at his right. Salem took the seat next to Asa and there was one empty seat between him and Charlie that I quietly took. Next to Charlie was a long faced boy with floppy brown hair and sad eyes, next to him was a little boy who couldn't have been older than 8 or 9 with a shock of white hair, large glasses and ruby red eyes. Next to the albino was Emma Tolly, the girl from the book store. She smiled at me and looked back down at the book she was reading. Beside Emma Tolly was a broad shouldered boy with blonde hair that seemed to stick straight up due to static. His eyes were the color of the sky on the clearest of days. Next to him was the only African boy I had seen that day. His hair was dreadlocked and pulled back into a ponytail to stay out of his face. He seemed wise beyond his age (I was assuming that he was maybe 17) and had the warmest and kindest brown eyes I had ever seen. There were several empty chairs after him and on the other side of Zelda was a very chubby girl with rosy cheeks and curly blonde hair.

"You're both late." Manfred growled, not even looking up at us. "Where were you?"

"I forgot something in the coatroom." Zelda answered. "I asked Infinity to come with me."

"What, you can't go by yourself? I thought you were a big girl, Zelda."

I felt bad for her for being mocked by her own boyfriend. Asa was right when he told me not to take Manfred's behavior personal. He seemed to treat even his closest friends poorly. "I'm sorry." Zelda answered. She barely seemed phased by his anger.

"Well, anyways." Manfred looked up. "If you were paying attention during dinner, you would already know that this is Infinity. You all can go around and introduce yourselves if you'd like. Or not. I don't really care. Just make it quick and shut up as soon as you finish saying what you need to say."

"Hi!" The blonde boy with the blonde hair that seemed to radiate with electricity spoke first. "I'm Tancred Torsson. Uh. I'm obviously in the art department and I can control the weather." He flashed a smile of white perfectly straight teeth. "I feel like I should warn you about my endowment because it's very easily affected by my moods. Sometimes I can't control myself and I can send out blasts of wind and rain, even indoors."

"I'm Lysander Sage." The African boy next to him spoke next. He had a powerful voice and a very calming air about him. I could tell that he was a natural born leader and was very respected by most of the people in the room, except for maybe Manfred, Asa and Zelda. "My father is the judge for this precinct and I like to sculpt things. I also run track in the summer for the public school in the city." He omitted his endowment, but that was his own business. I figured most of them would.

"We already met." Emma Tolly said in her soft voice. She seemed to be so kind, innocent and sweet. "It's nice to see you again, though."

"I'm Gabriel Silk." The boy with the sad, long face and floppy hair attempted to push his bangs out of his eyes. "I can feel things… Like emotions of people, if I touch articles of clothing that they wore. I can, uh, show you if you'd like some time. I don't mind." He looked over at the albino boy. "Oh, and that's Billy Raven. He's just being shy."

Billy smiled briefly and looked back down at his homework. Poor kid seemed miserable. I turned my attention over to the chubby girl with frizzy blonde hair. She looked up at me for a few seconds but then looked back down again without saying a word. "Oh, that's Dorcas." Manfred murmured. "That's everyone. Get to work."

I prepared to sit in two hours of awkward silence with a group of people I didn't know who all had gifts as strange as mine (although I knew nothing of my own power). **The endowed are split into two, just like the King's children were a thousand years ago.** Salem's voice filled my head. I looked lover at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He was very still, focusing on the book that was open in front of him. **Manfred and I are descended from Borlath, the most evil and cruel of all of the children. He tortured for fun and burnt down the whole city. That was his endowment. He could control fire. Our great grandfather influences the evil children, using Manfred as a pawn. Things have changed lately, though. I don't quite know who is manipulating who anymore. Manfred seems to be stronger. Charlie is descended from Amoret, the king's youngest child. He is on the side of the good endowed. He and all of his friends stick together.**

_What about you? I thought. Where do you stand?_

**I am the mediator. I keep the balance. I refuse to help anyone. I don't mean to brag but I have way more power and control than a single person should ever have. I'm dangerous and if I allowed myself to be influenced by either affiliation then many people would be hurt and one side would just have way too much power.**

_Your family doesn't force you to take their side?_

**Every time they get the idea to try to force me to work for them, I make sure that they do not succeed.**

"Salem." Manfred's voice snapped Salem out of his trance like state. "Stop distracting whoever it is you're communicating with. The rules apply to you too."

**We're the same exact age, but he's about ten minutes older and still uses that as justification to boss me around like a child. Well, that and the fact that I was held back a grade because I got sick and couldn't attend school for a whole year.**

"Salem!" Manfred barked again. Salem shot him a dirty look and I didn't hear anything from him for the rest of the period.

When Manfred finally dismissed us, I stood up to leave prompting Charlie to grab my arm.. "Please be careful around them, okay?" He begged.

"You don't have to worry about me." I smiled at him and found that Manfred, Zelda and Salem were waiting for me outside of the room. Asa had already disappeared; probably doing whatever it was that werebeasts did at night. Zelda and Manfred walked ahead of Salem and I.

"Manny walks her to her room every night. I figured I would accompany you so you didn't feel like an awkward third wheel." He offered his arm and I took it even if it was just to humor him. "I'm counting this as our first date." He joked and winked at me. "Even if you are interested in Asa Pike."

I blushed. "I said no such thing."

"I know. It was just a fleeting thought, but I still have to size up my competition." He admitted. "Lucky for you, I'm a good sport and won't manipulate your affections. I'll win you over the old fashioned way with my good looks and boyish charm. You'll figure out what Asa's all about in due time." We didn't say much more while we walked to the dorm. Manfred left Zelda with a simple goodnight and walked away. Salem took my hand, kissed the knuckle and smiled his charming smile. "Goodnight, princess." He teased. I felt my face turn bright red. Salem had a wonderful personality. I couldn't believe that he and Manfred were brothers, let alone twins. They couldn't be any more different if they tried.

However, I had a hard time taking Salem seriously. I had no doubt in my mind that he was only a shameless flirt and I had no desire getting tied up with him in that way. I did, however, see him as being a very good friend and I hoped that he was as honorable and kind as he seemed. I didn't want to assume the worst in him, but it didn't hurt to be wary.


	5. Art of Manipulation

Chapter Five: Art of Manipulation

When I opened my eyes, something seemed quite off. I sat up and looked around. I was back in my bedroom at home. The windows were wide open, letting in the bright California sun and the smell of a saltwater beach. I ran my hands over my duvet and could feel the satin on my fingertips rather than the scratchy wool blankets of the academy. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, unsure of what was happening. I out onto the patio in a panic, feeling the warm sun on my skin and the light wind through my hair.

"Infinity Elizabeth, whatever are you doing?" A familiar voice caused my skin to prick with goose bumps. I turned my head to see my father sitting at the patio table with a newspaper in his hands.

"Dad?" I nearly toppled my father's chair over from jumping on him with such force.

"What are you doing?" He let out a throaty chuckle. "I came home a week ago. Where was the excitement then?"

"I had a dream, a very realistic dream." I sat down at the table with him. "It was just so vivid I actually believed it was real." My father put down his newspaper and folded his hands under his chin. He may have been gone a lot, but he was devoted when he was actually home, at least when he didn't have himself buried in his research. "There was an accident on your last trip. The boat disappeared and you were presumed dead, so mom sold the house and we went to go stay with Grandma Maisie and Aunt Amy. I apparently was a witch or something and mom made me go to this awful academy ran by awful people. I actually thought it was real."

"Well, I'm right here. Nothing happened to me. You certainly do have a vivid imagination." Although my reaction to the dream seemed ridiculous, I was relieved that he was taking me seriously and sparing my feelings no matter how foolish I was acting. "But sadly I do have to go back to Bimini for migration season in a few days and I'll be gone for quite a while. What do you say about us spending the day together, just the two of us?"

It was great spending time with my father. He took me surfing and we decided to go shopping at the boardwalk. He bought me a new sun dress and we got cold drinks from the food vendor. I felt truly happy for the first time in a long time. I couldn't remember the last time I was able to spend time alone with my father and talk to him about all of the things going on in my life and things going on in his research. Even though he had come home several days before, I couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread that came with my dream. As if he could still sense my dread, he put a hand on my shoulder and leaned in close. "It's going to be okay, Infinity. But you need to wake up."

"What?" I looked over at my father, thinking that I misheard him.

He turned to me and repeated himself. "Wake up, Infinity! I actually want to get the good breakfast." The world around us faded and I found myself looking into Zelda's face as she gently patted my face. "Wow, you were really out. I almost feel bad for waking you up." She murmured.

"What?" I was confused. My mouth was dry, my eyelids were heavy and I could feel beads of sweat all over my skin. I stared at the peeling wallpaper that covered the walls, the bare light bulb in the center of the room. There was no sunshine here. "No!" I could feel tears streaming down my face before I could stop them. I tried to wipe them away in vain.

"Hey, what's wrong?" A surprising look of worry rippled through Zelda's usually serious features. I wordlessly rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom. I hoped she wouldn't follow me. She did. She gave me privacy as I stripped off my night clothes and forced myself under the still freezing shower stream. As I fought the urge to shiver, I could hear her voice through the curtain. "Manfred had dreams too when everything first happened with his mother. He would wake up and expect her to be there. He never showed her any affection, but any time she tried to get away and have a chance at happiness, he was the one who was there to stop her."

"You and Asa are so quick to point out the awful things he does." I tried to turn the subject away from me. "Why do you stick around him?"

"Sometimes it's the easier choice. He isn't always what he seems."

"I don't believe that at all." I quickly finished my shower, wrapped myself in a towel and made my way to the sink to brush my teeth. Zelda followed out not that far behind me.

"You look like you're going to be sick." She said, peeking up at my reflection in the mirror. "Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?"

"No. I'm fine." I focused on my reflection and saw that she was right. I was looking a little pale and there were bags around my eyes. I didn't have time to try and hide how awful I felt, I just quickly blow dried my hair and tied it up into a ponytail. "I'm ready." I said finally. Zelda and I walked to the drama cafeteria for breakfast and managed to get there before all of the food was gone. Today's breakfast was toast and jam, bacon, pancakes and tea.

We sat down at a table where Asa and Manfred already sat. Asa looked exhausted and had a large scratch on his cheek that was already beginning to scab over. He also had a twig in his hair. I picked it out and sat down next to him. "Hey, I was wondering when you'd get here." He looked at me and smiled. "I have an algebra test later and was wondering if you would help me study for it during free period. Whenever I ask Zelda to explain things she just makes me even more confused."

I poked at my spongy pancakes and took a small bite, nodding as I did so. I didn't really feel much like talking. "She's a little under the weather today." Zelda remarked.

"I can tell." Asa took the last few bites of his food. "You should let me take you to the infirmary. This weather will only make you feel worse the longer you go without taking care of whatever you have."

My stomach began to churn and I felt a wave of nausea. "It's probably just stress." I frowned.

"Either way, you can't focus on your studies if you're not feeling well. You should go." Zelda encouraged. "If you don't want to go with Asa, I can take you."

"No, she can go with Asa." Manfred grumbled. Asa took my plate for me, not waiting for my answer. I followed him as he dumped it and took it to where the kitchen staff collected them to clean them. I suppressed a chill as we walked down one of the long corridors lined with antique sconces. I crossed my arms but it did nothing, I was still cold.

"I see that you and Zelda are getting along better today." He said. All I could do is nod. I felt that if I spoke, I would end up getting sick. Stress always made me incredibly sick. It was one of the other reasons my mother kept me homeschooled. "I'm happy for her. She needs more female friends. Spending all your time with Manfred isn't good for the spirit. I don't know too much about her, but he says that you two have a good deal in common."

"You're not friends with her?" I spoke slowly when a wave of nausea passed. I began to break out in a sweat and struggled to swallow the excess saliva building up in my mouth.

"Ah, no. Not really. We had a bit of a falling out when she first came to the academy and things have been awkward ever since." He pushed a stray hair out of his face and shoved his hands into his pockets. "This is a little weird for me to tell someone that I just met, but since I already told you that my parents are animal people, I guess I can tell you another fact about myself." He stopped walking and I believed that it was my cue to stop walking as well. We stood in the middle of the hallway on the ugly ornate carpet that seemed to be favored in most of the corridors in this building. "Zelda and I aren't friends because I'm gay."

This information hit me like a freight train. It was almost a little too much to take in at once. He didn't seem gay to me. He wasn't effeminate at all, nothing about him gave that away. Regardless, I didn't understand why that was enough to cause Zelda and Asa to dislike each other. Was she homophobic or religious? I stared into his eyes, unsure of what kind of response he expected of me, or what kind of response I expected of myself.

"I should rephrase that. Zelda doesn't have anything against gays. At least not to my knowledge." He said quietly. He looked at the floor. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, and if I find out that this conversation leaves this hallway, I will jump through your window and kill you while you are asleep."

I arched my brow. "Look, I'm barely following what's going on."

He grabbed me by my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "First things first, I'm in the closet. I would like to stay that way. I just want to get out of here and graduate. Despite this being a school of arts, most of the guys here aren't going to be too happy knowing that I am the way that I am and I would rather not get the shit kicked out of me everywhere I go." He shook me a little and put his face inches from mine. I could see every single freckle across his face. "This second part is very important. I'm not kidding, Infinity. If you do not keep your mouth shut, both of us will die. When they do an autopsy on me, they will find your goddamn heart in my stomach, I promise that. I am not going down alone. I will take you with me."

"Okay, I get it. Just tell me already." I removed his hands from my shoulders and crossed my arms again. He was making me feel even more nauseous.

"Zelda doesn't like me because Manfred went through a little phase where he didn't know if he was completely straight or not." His voice was barely above a whisper. "So we fooled around a little bit and that is what helped him figure out that he's as straight as a board. Zelda ended up finding out because she overheard Manfred and Salem talking about it. As much as they fight, they tell each other everything. Salem respects him enough not to go into his head. Zelda had a huge crush on him at that point and although she never outright said anything to me, her behavior gave her feelings on the subject away."

"Right." Another wave of nausea hit me.

"The other reason I'm telling you this is because Salem told me that you were starting to develop a little bit of a crush on me." I could hear his words, but I was more worried about the warning rumbles in my stomach. "I don't know much about you, but from the time we spent together I can tell that you're a great girl. That's why I wanted to tell you now, to spare your feelings. I'm sure if I was straight I would be interested in you as well, but this is just how I am."

"Sorry." I couldn't hold it anymore. I turned away from him and spotted an open classroom door. Praying for a garbage can, I ran into the room, found what I needed and vomited until my throat was raw.

 

After deducing that stress and anxiety were the cause of my illness, the nurses in the infirmary let me catch up on a little sleep. They told me not to stress out too much and to try and take it easy the next week. I left and was able to rejoin my classmates in the courtyard for break. Manfred and Salem were talking by the woodpile. Zelda and Asa were nowhere to be seen. I approached them and as soon as Manfred saw me, he turned his back to me. He knew that I knew.

"I told you that you'd figure out what Asa was all about soon enough." Salem smirked. "At least it was just a harmless crush and no one really got hurt." He looked at Manfred. "You did tell Asa to manipulate her in any way possible. Bet you didn't think it would come back to bite you in the ass."

"What?" I was confused.

"Can I tell her?" His face almost split in two with a smile. "I'm gonna tell her anyway. I love it when Manny learns a lesson and regrets his behavior." He clapped his hands together. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize Asa's voice when you met him in the library. He was the one who almost found us when we were hiding in the closet." He turned back to Manfred. "Yes, we were hiding in that closet. Asa was literally centimeters away from us and still couldn't find us. So much for heightened senses, am I right?" He chuckled. "Anyways, when Manny realized Zelda couldn't get along with another female long enough to try and turn you into one of his brainless minions, he gave the task to Asa. Asa decided that the best way to manipulate a young teenage girl was to flirt with her, make her trust him, lead her on. Well, I like you, Infinity. I think you and I are going to be great friends, and I like to do favors for my friends. I made Asa tell you the truth. I don't believe you are a threat and there is no reason to needlessly hurt you like that." He glared at his brother, who still had his back turned to us. "Zelda and Asa will do just about anything Manny asks of them. Those are his friends, so I don't care. But because I happen to enjoy your company, I wanted Manny to know that you're off limits. Has that been understood, Manfred? She has done nothing wrong. She is not a threat." The seriousness of his tone made my stomach drop.

To my surprise, Manfred grumbled a half-hearted affirmation.

 

Because Manfred, Asa and Zelda were the only endowed in the drama department I still found myself hanging out with them. Although I knew that she was just as manipulative and spiteful as Manfred and Asa, I still liked Zelda. She grew on me during my first week and I would like to think I grew on her. I thought I felt a change in Zelda's personality, so I asked Salem about it when I ran into him during the end of my free period in the library. "Is she just being nice or is she just trying harder because Asa failed?"

"Now, now." He sat down the book he was reading and smiled his signature mischievous smile. "That sensitive information comes at a price." He turned his cheek towards me and patted it. I knew what he wanted but I lightly tapped him on the cheek instead. "Oh, you're no fun. Come sit down and the Marvelous Omniscient Salem will tell you what you want to know." He spoke with a comical gypsy accent. "I'll need to read your palm."

"Salem." I sat down in the chair next to him and gave him a warning look.

"Oh, come on. Just humor me. I'm bored as hell sitting in here reading about crazy Miss Havisham and her dirty wedding dress." I rolled my eyes and gave him my hand. "Now it's like a real date." He laced his fingers in mine. "Okay, Zelda is being honest and does enjoy your company. Her best friend just left the academy about a week before you got here and as much as she loves my brother, she needs a break from him. You two have so much in common, being young geniuses and all. But don't confuse that for loyalty. She would sell you out to Manfred in a second if she really had to." He let go of my hand and leaned back on the couch. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah. Just one. Where is Lyell?"

"You know I can't answer that. Nice try though." He looked up at the clock on the library wall. "You better get going or you're going to miss your bus."

I would have made my bus on time if I hadn't looked back one last time before leaving the front door. I saw Manfred harassing Charlie and I knew there was no way he would make it to the bus so I hung back. The academy was quite a long walk from Filbert Street and I didn't want him to have to take that walk alone. When Manfred started to get meaner by the second, I intervened. "That's enough. You already made him miss his bus. We're leaving now." I grabbed Charlie's arm and pulled him towards the door.

"I'm not finished." Manfred barked.

"Yes you are. He wasn't given detention so you have no reason to hold him after school hours. It's already bad enough that we have to carry our trunks the whole way in freezing weather. He's twelve, Manfred. There is no reason to speak to him that way. He's still a child." I opened the door and stormed out, not really caring about the repercussions. I would probably get in trouble for disrespect and insubordination, but I didn't think there was too much he could do since it was after school hours and I wasn't being retained for any school activity or discipline. Manfred was yelling something behind me but I didn't care. We had a long walk ahead of us. "What a jerk. What was he holding you behind for?"

"He blames me for his mom leaving." Charlie began to pull is luggage behind him. Luckily both of our trunks had wheels. "So he has been extra nasty lately."

"How is that your fault?"

"It's quite the story." He sighed. "The Bloors and the Yewbeams are distant cousins. My great great grandpa married Manfred and Salem's great great aunt. Well a long time ago, my great grandpa and his brother Henry were sent to go live with their mother's brother while their little sister was dying and Ezekiel Bloor, their cousin and Manfred's great grandfather wasn't happy about it. An artifact of the Red King's called the Time Twister was passed down through the Bloor family and it had the ability to jump you ahead to the future when the conditions of weather and time and probably lunar phase were the exact same as the time period you left. Ezekiel used the time twister on Henry on the coldest day of the century and it never got that cold in Bloor's academy ever again until this past January so my great great uncle appeared this year and is the same age as me."

"I think I can see where this is going. Henry gave Mrs. Bloor the Time Twister, didn't he?" For some reason, I didn't find these stories as hard to believe anymore. Charlie nodded. I couldn't blame her for wanting to leave. It made me feel bad for Salem though. "Why didn't Salem go with her?"

"He said he was needed here, I guess." Charlie shrugged. "I think he's the only one stopping the Bloors from killing us all and there's nothing that they can do about it because he's so incredibly powerful. If any of them wish the slightest ill will towards him, he can change their minds. He refuses to help either side though. He thinks what they are doing is wrong but won't go as far as to betray his family."

"What can I say? I'm Switzerland." Salem's voice said from behind us, causing us both to jump. "You really pissed off Manny, you know. He's in there cussing up a storm. He's going to make you pay for that next week. He'll probably try to give you detention for insubordination but I'm sure I can get you out of it. Can I give you two a ride home? It's freaking freezing."

I looked at Charlie and he smiled gratefully. "That would be really awesome, Salem."

"It's no problem." He winked and led us towards the parking lot. "It'll be a bit of a tight fit with your trunks because my car isn't quite as big as Manny's but we'll make do. I'll stick your stuff in the trunk and Charlie's in the back seat with him." He pulled out his keys and unlocked his car with the remote. The car that beeped was a silver two-door with tinted windows. I started walking to the wrong side of the car but stopped myself. I didn't think I could ever get used to the fact that they drive on the left side of the road over here. Salem loaded up our things and started the car. We were blasted with loud music. He quickly fumbled with the knobs and turned it down. "I'm sorry. I don't usually have other people in my car."

"Oh I love Nirvana. It's okay." I smiled at him.

"What kind of music are you in to?" He pulled out of the parking lot and rested his hand on the gear shift.

I nervously recited the bands that I liked listening to, not expecting someone like Salem to be interested in the same things that I was.

"You need to hang out with me some time. Your taste in music is parallel to mine." His smile was massive. "You struck me as a girly kind of music girl. I don't know. I was thinking country music for some reason." He moved his hand from the gear shift to my leg and shook it. "You have to meet my band."

"Just because I lived in America doesn't mean that we all only listen to country music." I teased. "You're in a band?"

"Yeah, with a couple people from the academy. RWe don't really have a band name or anything yet. We just screw around during free periods a few days a week if we're not busy." He adjusted both hands on the wheel. "So where is it that we're going? While the rest of my family seems to keep very close tabs on your family, I personally have no idea where you live."

"Oh. 9 Filbert Street." Charlie said from the back seat. Salem nodded and turned off of the street the academy sat on. I didn't say too much on the way back home. I was too deep in my own thoughts on how this week had played out and Salem could sense that. So he engaged in conversation with Charlie.

"It's really nice what you and Henry did for my mom, Charlie." He said when we finally stopped in front of Number 9. "Someday, I will repay that favor. All I can do for now is tell you that you will be reunited with your father again." He shut the car off and pocketed his keys. "Let me help you take your stuff in."

"Oh no, you don't have to." I began to protest.

"It's rude to make a woman carry everything." He was already popping the trunk before I could say anything else. "Lead the way, my dear." He also took Charlie's luggage.

Charlie ran up the stairs and opened the door for him and Salem sat everything down in the foyer. "Thank you so much for bringing us home, Salem." Charlie said.

"Charlie? Infinity?" Maisie came flying out of the kitchen, her face was beat red. "Where on Earth have you two been? The busses came by already and neither of you got off. I was so worried! I called the academy and they weren't helpful in the slightest. Amy was about to call a taxi and come looking for you." She stopped when she saw Salem. "Oh, hello! I'm Charlie and Infinity's grandmother. Who are you?"

"My name is Salem, ma'am. They ran a little late for their busses so I offered to drive them home. It's too cold to walk." He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I should be getting back now-"

"None of that Ma'am nonsense. Call me Maisie, dear." Maisie wiped her hands on her apron. "Why don't you come in and have something to eat?" She winked at me and then I realized she was completely misinterpreting the situation. I guess Charlie noticed too because he looked back at us and smirked.

Salem looked back at me for approval and I nodded, taking his coat off of his shoulders for him and hanging it on the hook next to mine. We walked into the kitchen where Maisie had numerous different foods for us to eat. I think she took pity on us and for the awful food we had to endure during the school week. Aunt Amy sat at the table with a calculator and a stack of bills. She looked up at us when we walked in the door. A very tired smile played on her lips. "Welcome home, loves. How was your first week?" She looked up and noticed Salem. "Oh! You made a friend, I see. I'm guessing it went well. I'm Amy, Charlie's mother and Infinity's aunt."

"Salem Bloor." He shook her hand and didn't seem offended when Aunt Amy instinctively stepped back from him. "I'm the 'nice' Bloor. Charlie can vouch for me, can't you?" He looked over his shoulder at Charlie, who nodded in agreement. "I'm actually the bane of my brother's existence, I believe."

"Salem drove us home." I added. "Manfred caused Charlie to miss his bus so I stayed behind and he offered to drive us."

"That was very nice of you. Please help yourself. There's plenty for everyone." She grabbed three plates from the cupboard and handed one to each of us. "I have to work the afternoon shift at the grocery store tonight so I'll see you both tonight. It was nice to meet you, Salem." Aunt Amy hurried passed us and out the door.


	6. Assault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abuse TW

Chapter Six: Assault

I found it strange that as a sixteen year old girl I had to share a bedroom with my twelve year old cousin. Charlie's bedroom had been completely rearranged. Against opposite walls sat two twin beds. Charlie's bed was the one with blue and gray striped comforter and mine was light blue with a white design on it. It was pretty cute and I wondered who had picked it out. My clothes were hung up in the only closet and I assumed that Charlie's were neatly folded in the drawers. We had one desk and computer, which wasn't a big deal to me because I had brought my laptop and I could see it sitting neatly on the end table by my bed. The walls were painted a light gray and decorated with medals and trophies from what looked like soccer. On the floor sat a solid blue rug.

"Hopefully this arrangement isn't forever." I sighed and flopped down on my bed. "It's not fair to you to have to share a room with a family member you hardly know."

"Maybe if we're lucky, Grandma Bone will move out and you can have her room." Charlie sat down in front of his computer. "How did your first week go?" He asked as he logged on and began to browse the internet. "I didn't get to talk to you very much."

"Eh. It was okay, I guess. I didn't make very many friends." I opened the book I was expected to read for English, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I had already read it, but if I was expected to write an essay on it or answer questions, I would need a refresher. "I mostly butted heads with Manfred the whole time. He doesn't like me very much. I just completely stopped talking to Asa because he's just as bad as Manfred. Zelda isn't too bad, actually. She and I get along pretty well. And I never really see Salem except for my English class because he's a year below me. I wish I could switch to the music department so I could hang out with him more often, but I think the Bloors put me in drama for a reason." I turned to look at Charlie. "The place is dreadful and I never want to go back."

"That's how most of us feel. The Bloor family makes everything awful for those who refuse to help them with what they do. You should definitely be careful around Zelda, though. While she's being nice to you now, I'm sure if Manfred decided he didn't want you two to talk, she would listen to him in a heartbeat." He finished what he had gotten on the computer to do and turned it off. He stared at his reflection in the blank screen. "As for Salem, he seems really nice but I don't think he really gets close to anyone, though he seems to have taken a liking to you. Do you think he was telling the truth? About my dad, I mean?"

"You've known him longer than I have, Charlie. I just met him this week."

"I only met him a few months ago when I started at the academy in November. I don't quite know how to feel about him. I don't understand how someone can just not pick a side, but I am more comfortable knowing that he doesn't do any of their dirty work." He let out a loud sigh and walked over to his own bed. "I feel so useless. I wish I remembered what my dad looked like. How can someone just completely forget their own father's face?"

"It's not your fault." I closed my book and walked over to his bed to sit down next to him. "You were two when all of this happened and your grandmother made sure that all the photographic evidence of your father was either destroyed or hidden away."

"But I'm almost positive they're hiding him right in front of my face. I just know it. I should be able to recognize him when I see him. Aren't you supposed to have some kind of bond with your parents?"

I chuckled. "I don't know. I didn't feel a bond at all with my mother and I lived with her for sixteen years. I feel more of one with Aunt Amy than with her." I looked down at my hands. "What if I can use my powers to help you remember your dad?"

"Can you really do that?" His eyes went wide.

"I really don't know." I frowned. "I've never willingly tried to use them before. I know I can heal the injured. I should be able to do other witchy things too, right?"

"So what do you even do? Does it just happen or do you have to recite a spell?"

"Uh, the last time I did it, it was a reflex of my body thinking I was in danger. Maybe now that I know I can do things like that, I can control it." I tried to focus and feel the powers that I supposedly had run through my body. I don't know if I tricked myself into feeling it or if this was real, but I felt like I could do something. I even said a little spell in my head to give myself confidence. The Bloors have been nothing but a bother, So I'll help Charlie remember his father! I put my hand on his forehead and my palm began to glow. I began to get excited and squealed a little. I pulled my hand away. "Did it work? Do you remember him?"

"No." Charlie sighed. "But the headache I was starting to get went away. Thanks for trying, Infinity. But I don't think you can do anything beyond healing and protection."

"I'm sorry." I stood up and headed back over to my bed. "At least we know that I can control my magic though." I plopped down on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling. "Maybe if I continue to work really hard I'll be able to help you someday. I don't think Salem is lying."

"I really hope not."

We both decided to silently work on our homework the rest of the night so that we could spend Saturday and Sunday free of school work and actually enjoy our time away from the academy. We worked well into the night and communicated very little. We both had a lot of reading to catch up on. Both of us finished at roughly the same time and decided to go to bed. Before I turned off my bedside lamp, Charlie called my name. I sat up and looked at him over the desk. "Tomorrow a bunch of us are getting together at our favorite hangout spot. Do you want to come with me?"

I smiled at my cousin. "Sure, Charlie. Thank you for inviting me."

"No problem." He snapped off his light and rolled over. "Good night, Infinity."

 

I woke up the next morning to the sun assaulting my eyes through the blue gingham curtains and the smell of pancakes wafting up from downstairs. I looked at my alarm clock through squinted eyes. It was 10 am and I felt surprisingly well rested for the first time since my father died. I sat up and stretched my arms out, looking around the room. Charlie was still asleep so I quietly gathered my clothes and made my way to the bathroom down the hall.

I took a quick shower, turning the water on has hot as my body could stand because I didn't have that luxury at the academy. I tipped my head back under the stream of running water and wetted my hair before shampooing it roughly. I was interrupted by a loud bang on the door. "The steam is coming out from under the door!" It was Grizelda. "Save some hot water for the other people in this house, you wasteful brat!"

"Leave her be, Grizelda." I heard Paton's booming voice come from down the hall. "You never had to attend that academy. You don't know how many things they have to go without while they're there."

I smiled at Paton's concern. He had attended the academy as well. I had a feeling that there was something special about him when I had first arrived here a week ago. It made sense that he was most likely endowed. I figured it had something to do with lights because everywhere he went, the other occupants of the household dove for light switches. "Thank you!" I called out.

"Any time, dear girl!" He called back. Grizelda stomped back to her room and slammed the door, allowing me to finish my shower in peace. I stepped out onto the soft rug that sat in front of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist and another around my head. I quickly brushed my teeth and scrubbed my face a second time when I finished. I pulled on my outfit for the day, which consisted of black fleece leggings, a black skirt and a purple sweater. When I was satisfied, I quickly applied my makeup, blow dried my hair and threw my night clothes in my hamper back in the bedroom. By the time I had finished with everything, Charlie was already up and dressed.

"Good morning." He said cheerfully. "Grandma yells at me every time I take a hot shower, too. Just ignore her."

"She's not a very pleasant lady, is she?" I pulled out my cellphone that I had not turned on for the entire week since they were banned at the academy. Maisie had kept it in my bedside table drawer, safe. I was happy to see that my service had not been terminated and that my mother was still paying the bill even after our falling out. I had no messages from her though. It was as if she didn't even care to see how my week had gone. I dialed her number quickly and put my phone up to my ear.

"The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected…" The automated message said in my ear. I hung up and sat the phone down gently on the dresser and ran down the stairs into the kitchen where Aunt Amy and Maisie were sitting at the table enjoying their morning tea.

"Good morning." Aunt Amy smiled at me. "You look nice."

I ignored her compliment. "Have you heard from my mother since she left me here?" I asked quickly, beginning to panic. "I just tried to call her and the number was disconnected, but my phone is still on."

"Oh, sweetheart." Grandma Maisie stood up to prepare a cup of tea for me and Aunt Amy patted the seat next to her.

"It's okay, Infinity." She cooed gently. "Just breathe. I don't want you to get too upset, although there is something I want to talk to you about…"

Before Aunt Amy could tell me what she wanted to talk to me about, my heart began to race even faster. I knew what she was going to say. "You haven't heard from her either." I looked down at the papers that she had sitting in front of her, and realized that my name was on a few of them. I scanned them quickly before Aunt Amy could put her hand over them. They were papers granting guardianship to Amy Bone. "What is that?" I tried to move her hand away to finish reading, but she wouldn't budge. She looked up at Maisie for help.

"Don't blame yourself." Maisie said loudly, slamming the kettle down on her stove. "Lillian has always been irresponsible her whole life. She threw a fit because she wanted a daughter, and once she was given a perfectly healthy baby girl, she realized that everything wasn't all roses, and then when I offered to take you-"

"Mom." Aunt Amy spoke up with a warning tone.

"What?" I stared at Grandma Maisie, hoping she would elaborate on what she meant.

She sighed. "Before you moved away, Lillian was having a lot of trouble adjusting to having a child, especially with Ailwyn gone all the time. I told her that if it was too much, I would take you. Your mom thought about it, but Ailwyn refused."

"So, she never wanted me." I said slowly, taking a sip of the tea that Maisie placed in front of me.

"We want you, Infinity." Maisie stroked my hair. "That's all that matters. You're ours now, and we'll never let you go. There is no changing people like your mother. I raised her the best I could, but she never connected with people or their feelings. She was spoiled rotten and just awful to me and your aunt. Part of me thinks it's because I had her when I was way too young." She placed a plate of pancakes in front of me. They were my favorite. Chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream, bananas and whipped cream. I decided to forget about my mother and dig into breakfast, not speaking to anyone until it was gone.

"Are you okay?" Aunt Amy asked gently. I nodded. I had decided that I would rather be here with a family that really loved me than with a woman who ignored me and got rid of me so easily. I pushed my mother into the back of my mind and kept her there.

I was grateful when a few hours passed and Charlie told me that we were going to head to hang out with his friends. We stopped at the house across the street where we picked up a boy around the same age as Charlie who had a dog with him. The dog was bundled in a sweater the same exact color of the boy's jacket.

The dog immediately got excited seeing someone that he did not know and kept bugging me to pet him as we all stood on the porch of the house across the street. I slipped off my glove and scratched his ears. "Hi, cutie."

"Who is this?" The boy asked, eyeing me suspiciously. He was much more scrawny than Charlie with hair the color of damp hay that matched the dog's fur.

"Oh, this is my cousin Infinity. She's living with us now." Charlie introduced me. "This is my best friend Benjamin Brown and his dog Runner Bean."

"It's nice to meet you, Benjamin." I smiled at him and continued to pet his dog. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, big guy."

The dog barked with glee and we all headed down the road back towards Cathedral Close. Charlie and Benjamin talked about their week at two different schools. From their conversation, it was apparent that Benjamin was a quiet and lonely boy that kept to himself much like I did. I felt bad for him. His only friend was sent away to a boarding school and he could only see him on the weekends, and now he had to share him with even more people.

We turned down a street that wasn't labeled with a normal street sign, but with a sign shaped like a frog. I found this strange but kept following anyway until we stopped in front of a building called "The Pets' Café". We entered and I was quickly surprised by an incredible amount of animals running around all over the place. It made me jump when someone's bird landed right on my shoulder and stayed there. It was a beautiful parrot. "Hi there." I said, gently to the parrot, looking around for its owner. "Who do you belong to, mister?"

"Oh, that's Lysander's parrot." Charlie said happily. "This is the Pets' Café. You have to have a pet to get in and Gabriel always brings extra gerbils for us so we always have access."

"I'm not a fan of rodents." I said quietly. "I don't have to hold them, do I?"

"Not if you don't want to." I heard Gabriel Silk's voice come from the large table across the room, he sounded rather offended and I felt guilty. It was full. There sat Lysander Sage, Tancred Torsson, Emma Tolly, a boy with a head of curly hair and a cat clinging to his shoulder, and the girl with the pink and blonde hair from the Drama Coatroom that was staring at me the day Zelda and I went to her locker. At least, her hair used to be pink and blonde. Today it was bright blue.

"Is Homer bothering you, Infinity?" Lysander asked coolly, referring to the parrot.

"Oh not at all. I quite like him, actually." I smiled and Lysander patted the chair between him and blue haired girl. I sat down and so did Ben and Charlie. The girl was still looking at me and being very obvious about it. She didn't care that I noticed.

"Why is she here?" She said loudly. "She's friends with Zelda, Manfred and Asa you know. I see them with her all the time."

"I'm actually not friends with Manfred and Asa. I can't really stand either of them." I said defensively. "They just won't leave me alone."

"What about Zelda? You're not denying that one. That's Manfred's girlfriend."

"Olivia." Lysander said sharply, cutting her off. "This is Infinity. She's Charlie's cousin and one of the endowed. Zelda is her student mentor since they're both young seniors. She isn't working with the Bloors." He looked at me and then rubbed the cheek of the bird on my shoulder. "It's nice to see you again."

"Are you sure you can trust her?" Olivia went on. "No offence to you, but you can never be too careful. You never know who the Bloors are paying off."

"The Bloors couldn't afford to pay me off." I murmured, picking up a small bird cracker and feeding it to the bird on my shoulder. "I love birds so much." I decided to ignore Olivia's outburst and talk to Homer. He wasn't judging me.

"Birds are my favorite too." Emma smiled at me shyly from the other end of the table. "Olivia, please be nice to her. I really think she's a good person. She saved me from Manfred once before she even knew who I was. It's possible for her to be friends with Zelda and not be working with Manfred. If Charlie trusts her, so do I."

Everyone around the table agreed and Olivia finally accepted me. "It's nice to meet you." The boy with the curly hair spoke up. "My name is Fidelio Gunn. I'm in the music department. I'm not endowed, but if you need anything ever, I'm always here to help."

"It's nice to meet you as well." I allowed Homer to walk along my arm and fly back onto Lysander's shoulder where he let out a happy whistle. This whistle caused Runner Bean to bark and all the rodents on the table to scurry around in a panic. "Oh no." I gasped as a fat gerbil almost fell off the table. I reached my hand out to catch him and place him back on the table as quickly as possible.

"Good catch, little miss." A voice from behind me cheerfully sang. I turned around to see a very short and fuzzy man with a large smile plastered on his face. He was accompanied by three beautiful colored cats that varied in colors of copper, orange and yellow. "Mr. Orvil Onimous at your service! And these three beauties are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. They were just dying to meet you."

"Oh?" I turned my attention to the cats and the copper one jumped up onto my lap and meowed in my face. "Hello to you too, Sagittarius." I said before I could stop myself. I had never seen these cats before in my life, yet I just knew that this specific cat was Sagittarius. "How did I know that?" I looked back up at Orvil Onimous.

"These aren't just any cats, are they children?" He addressed the group behind me. They all seemed to know Mr. Onimous and were very fond of him. I assumed he was the owner of the café. "These are very special cats. They used to be leopards, you know." He winked at me, but I knew he wasn't kidding. "They accompanied the Red King, and now they very much care about his other children. They can sense your power, so they are drawn to you. You are endowed, aren't you?"

"See, Olivia?" I heard Gabriel say. "The Flames like her, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Ah, were you speculating this young lady? What is your name, child?"

"Infinity Jones." I responded.

"Infinity is my older cousin." Charlie added. "She attends the academy with me and lives with us on the weekends. She's endowed. She can heal people and protect them."

"A white witch!" Mr. Onimous clapped gleefully. "What a wonderful thing to be! Do you hear that, Flames? Only the kindest witches can do such a wonderful thing. You needn't speculate her at all, young Olivia. Go ahead and lift that burden from your heart." He shook my hand quickly before heading back towards the kitchen after telling us goodbye.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the café and I was given an opportunity to learn a little bit about everyone. I felt warm inside getting to know this group of children, even though most of them were younger than me. Only Lysander, Tancred and Gabriel were my age or close to it.

That night, when Charlie and I walked back to our own home with Benjamin and Runner Bean, I thanked him. "I never had an opportunity to make friends whenever I lived overseas." I admitted, smiling softly. "This really meant a lot to me."

"You're my family, Infinity." Charlie smiled at me and rubbed the back of his neck. "My friends are your friends. We all need to stick together."

 

Monday morning, I stumbled into the academy side by side with Zelda. I was tired. I had barely slept the night before because I knew I would have to face Manfred's wrath for what I had said to him on Friday. When we made it to the coat room, I scanned the room for him but both he and Asa were missing. I let out a sigh of relief and switched out my books for the ones I would need for my first few classes. When I pulled out my biology book, an assignment that I was supposed to turn in last week fluttered out onto the floor. Why was my theater assignment tucked into my biology book? "Shit. I forgot to turn this in." I picked it up and tucked it into a folder. "Hey Zelda, I have to run to Mrs. Marlowe's office really quick. I'll catch you later."

"Okay." She smiled at me. "If you happen to see Manfred anywhere, let him know that I was looking for him. I finished our history project and I need him to look over it."

I nodded and ducked under someone who was wearing a very large wide-brimmed hat. Whoever he was, he looked ridiculous and had awful taste in hats. I hurried down the hall and towards the drama staff offices. I would just slip the assignment under the door and hurry to assembly before anyone realized I was gone. I turned the corner and I smacked hard into something. "Shit!" I looked up and saw Manfred standing before me with his arms crossed. He looked angry. "Yeah, I know. I'm not supposed to be out here. I just need to slide something under Mrs. Marlowe's door and I'll go to the auditorium with everyone else for assembly." _Salem, I don't know if you can hear me, but something is wrong._ I hid my fear as I spoke to Manfred, but I knew something terrible was coming to me.

"I know what you're trying to do." He growled, his face only inches from mine. I looked down at the floor trying my hardest to avoid eye contact. I felt someone from behind grab my arms and bind them behind my back in one quick fluid motion. I tried to run but whoever had bound my hands was holding my body so I couldn't run. Manfred held my head steady. "You're not going to just swoop in here and ruin all of our hard work. You think you can just use some stupid little spell to pick Charlie's brain for memories of his father?"

"What are you talking about?" I struggled and managed to get a peek at the arms holding me still. They were pale and freckled. It was Asa. I also got a good look at my restraints. They weren't just any simple run of the mill rope. I had a zip tie holding my wrists together. I stomped my foot down on his as hard as I could and he howled before letting me go. I tried to run but I wasn't doing very well. Have you ever tried to run with your arms restrained behind your back? You use your arms to help gain momentum and retain balance. Before either Manfred or Asa could register what happened, I bent over and rammed by wrists into my backside as hard as I possibly could, breaking the restraints. I had watched someone in Louisiana do the very same thing when I was younger. They often used zip ties rather than handcuffs in the smaller towns like the one my family had been staying in.

I was able to pick up speed way easier with my hands free but Manfred's long legs were an advantage for him. He grabbed me and threw me hard against the nearest wall, knocking the breath out of my lungs and leaving me dazed. I don't know why I wasn't able to protect myself against is assault. I tried over and over again to produce a protective force field, but nothing was happening. I was too flustered and stressed out. I couldn't focus. I knew I couldn't beat him but I wouldn't go down without a fight. When he flipped me over, I pretended to be unconscious so he would let his guard down. When he did just that, I reared my fist back and punched him as hard as I possibly could in the right eye. He slapped me hard across the face and held me down by my throat. "I guess you'll get to be with your father after all." He hissed, staring into my eyes. Everything went black.


	7. Zelda: Coma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some chapters are told from the POV of another character. This is told in the POV of Zelda.

Chapter Seven: Coma

"Hey, Zel. Where's Infinity?" Salem approached me just before assembly. "Manfred and Asa aren't here either? Why are you by yourself?"

I frowned. I had expected Infinity to be back by now. She didn't exactly tell me what she was going to do, but I assumed it wouldn't take her very long. "I don't know where any of them went. Infinity had to run and do something before assembly and I haven't seen or talked to Manfred or Asa since last Friday." I looked around. Maybe they were here already. I went to ask Salem if he could see them anywhere because he was a good bit taller than me, but when I turned to look at him all the color had drained from his face. His eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "Salem, what's wrong?"

"Something's wrong." He turned and ran in the other direction as fast as he could.

"Wait!" I called after him and followed behind. I was hit with a burst of adrenaline that allowed me to almost keep up with Salem as he booked it down the corridor towards the Drama Department Staff Offices.

He was about thirty feet ahead of me when he took a quick left turn and I heard him yell "Call an ambulance! NOW." I felt a large knot form in my stomach and I expected the worst. When I turned the corner just a few seconds after he yelled, what I saw made me sick. Infinity was sprawled out on her back, her eyes wide open and her usually tan skin was deathly gray. She had a bruise under her cheek, blood leaking from her nose and a choke bruise around her neck.

"Oh my god. Is she dead?" I dropped to the floor next to him and tried to find a pulse. Her skin was warm and her heart was beating, albeit faintly.

"No. But look at her eyes." I noticed that they were incredibly bloodshot.

"Petechial hemorrhaging. Are you sure she isn't dead? She was strangled. Look at the bruises."

"She's still breathing faintly. And I'm not talking about the broken blood vessels. Look how empty her eyes are. She was hypnotized after she was beat. This is the worst case of hypnosis I have ever seen in my life. Manfred wanted her brain dead. This doesn't even hold a candle to what he did to Lyell Bone."

"Manfred did this?" I couldn't believe it. He hadn't said a word about Infinity for several days. I figured that his little hatred that he had for her just stopped. She hadn't done anything against him that I knew of. "Why?"

"I don't know." Salem stood up. "You stay here with Infinity. You have a better medical background than I do because of your father. I'll go find help." He ran back towards the auditorium where assembly would just be beginning. I was grateful that it was me that stayed behind with Infinity when she began seizing. Salem wouldn't have known what to do. I quickly turned her to her side and even though it probably lasted only a few seconds, it felt like eternity. Her whole body jerked in the most uncomfortable way. I thought she was going to end up dislocating all of her joints before she would stop. I used my finger to help clear the saliva and vomit from her mouth and help arrived. Dr. Bloor looked horrified and instructed all of the staff to go back to assembly and not to let any of the children leave for any reason.

"You're telling me that Manfred did this?" Dr. Bloor looked over at Salem. "I can't protect him if he gets charged with murder. We can't cover this one up. Anyone could have seen something, and the staff have already seen her in this condition."

"Why the hell would you want to cover this up?" Salem yelled. "An ambulance will be here in about ten minutes. I don't understand why this happened. She didn't do anything wrong!"

"Go find your brother and Asa Pike and bring them to me now." Dr. Bloor knelt on the floor next to me and opened Infinity's eye because they had closed when her seizure ended. "She has broken blood vessels. What the fuck did he do to her? He didn't even tell me that she was a student of interest to watch over or that they had any other problems besides the disagreement on her first day." He tapped her cheek and checked for a pulse once again. "If that ambulance doesn't hurry up, she's going to die."

We sat with her and kept her comfortable until the ambulance took her away. I then followed Dr. Bloor to the west wing where Salem had Asa and Manfred in the sitting room. Manfred's one eye was nearly swollen shut and Asa had his shoe off. His toes were obviously broken. I scoffed at them. "It serves you right."

"Whose side are you on, you snarky bitch?" Manfred spat at me, holding an ice pack to his eye. Dr. Bloor grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him up off the couch.

"What is wrong with you?" He bellowed. "If you had a problem it could have been dealt with discreetly!"

"She was about to figure out where Lyell was. Grizelda told me that she heard the two of them talking and she was trying to experiment with her magic and help Charlie find memories of his father. Who's to say that she doesn't figure it out next time and we lose everything that our family worked hard for?" He pried Dr. Bloor's fingers from his shirt.

"Salem could have dealt with that. Now we're going to have the police snooping around here and you're going to get arrested. And I don't think I'm going to stop them or bail you out, either." He turned his attention to Asa. "And you-"

"I didn't know he was gonna almost kill her!" Asa threw his hands up. "We were just supposed to scare her! It just got a little out of control. She broke my toes and tried to run. She even broke through a zip tie restraint!"

"What?" Dr. Bloor narrowed his eyes. "That is not your job, nor is it your call to make! You idiots screwed this up. How the hell did she end up almost dead?"

"She shouldn't have tried to run. I didn't completely lose my temper until she slugged me. She hits really fucking hard for her size." Manfred put the ice pack back up to his eye. "And we can fix it. Zelda's father is the dean of medicine at Mercy, where they took her. They can just fudge up the report a little to say it's not assault. Right, Zel?"

"No. Not right!" I fumed. "I'm not going to ask my father to risk his job because you can't control your temper. Actually, I'm not going to do anything for you ever again." I looked over at Salem. "Go ahead. Wipe my memories. I refuse to assist your family any longer. You went too far and I don't want any part of it."

"Oh? This was too far? You didn't seem to mind the Ruin Game." Manfred snapped back.

"No, I did mind. This was a long time coming." I yelled. "Salem, please!"

Salem shrugged. "You got it. I'm not going to try and talk you out of it." And in a blink of an eye, all the burden I had been carrying for the Bloor family was lifted off of my shoulders.

 

When I got home from the academy on Friday, I asked my mother to drive me to Mercy hospital so I could go visit Infinity. I told her that I would get a ride home with my father and she left. She had been moved from the CCU to the ICU since she had been admitted and it was strange to see her hooked up to all of those machines. I stood at the foot of her bed. The last update that I had been given on her was that she was comatose and they didn't see her waking up any time soon. There was a chance that if she did wake up, she would stay in a vegetative state for the rest of her natural life.

"I found something interesting in her medical records." My father's voice made me jump. I turned around to look at him. I was surprised that he was hanging around the ICU. "Did you know that Infinity Jones is adopted?"

"I might have at one point." I said. "I asked Salem to wipe my memories of the Bloor Family secrets. I don't want anything to do with them anymore. I broke it off with Manfred."

"It was Manfred that did this, wasn't it?" He sighed. "As sad as it is that this happened to this young lady, I'm happy that it wasn't you." He picked up the chart at the end of her bed and flipped through it. "Infinity was born in this very hospital and adopted out the same day. She's Lyell and Amy Bone's biological daughter."

"What?" I lifted Infinity's hand from the bed and looked at her finger nails. They were chipped. I sat down in the chair next to her and took the nail polish out of my purse and began to repaint them for her. "Why did they put her up for adoption?" I finally asked.

"Because I was young and stupid." A soft voice came from the doorway. A very tired looking Amy Bone stood in the doorway. "I was only seventeen when I had her. Lyell and I weren't married yet. I thought that we wouldn't have been able to give her the kind of life she deserved so I signed her over to my sister and her husband who were unable to have children. I didn't know that they ignored and neglected her. I would have signed her over to my mother instead." She buried her face in her hands and began to sob. "You can't tell her. She'll hate me. We were young and scared and stupid. I regret it every single day." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "None of us knew Lillian would just take her and leave. I wanted to get guardianship of her when she got a little older but Lillian took that away from us. So we decided to have Charlie. This was supposed to be my second chance to make a good life for Infinity. I have custody of her again...but it looks like there's nothing I can do from here."

"It's okay, Mrs. Bone. Don't make yourself even more upset." My father patted her on the shoulder and looked at me. "Zelda, why don't we give Mrs. Bone a few minutes alone? We can have dinner in the cafeteria."

I recapped my nail polish and silently stood up. I slipped the polish into Amy's hands for her to finish and she smiled gratefully. Downstairs in the cafeteria, my father ordered our dinner of roast, mashed potatoes and corn. I wasn't hungry but it had been a long time since I was able to sit down and have dinner with my father so I tried to eat it anyway. He worked long hours at the hospital and barely ever came home.

"I know you're upset now, but what you did was the right thing." He reached across the table and put his hand over mine. "You'll be out of this town soon enough and you'll never have to worry about Manfred Bloor or his family ever again."

"His temper just flared up so suddenly, it seems. He didn't plan on almost killing her. You should see what she did to Asa and Manfred before he took her down. She broke all the toes in Asa's left foot and gave Manfred a shiner. Fight or flight kicked in, and she chose fight." I spooned some potatoes into my mouth. "If he did that to her, imagine what he could have done to me in a fit of anger. His family has killed people, Manfred has left people in a near vegetative state because they did something that he didn't approve of, he broke every single finger in his mother's hand when he was eight years old because he didn't want her to leave. He's a time bomb. He's going to kill someone someday, and I really hope it isn't her."

"I really don't know, Zelda. He cut off the oxygen to her brain and caused a lot of trauma through the hypnosis. Her esophagus almost completely collapsed. His father already paid off the authorities and threatened her family if they pressed charges. They expect me to just sweep this under the rug and I have no choice but to do that because if I don't, then something bad will happen to you. They came to me already, telling me that they would tie you up and torture you if I didn't do whatever I could to make this go away." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "She very well may die and her murder will never be brought to justice because of the corruption of this town. You never know who they are in alliance with." His pager suddenly went off and he looked down. "Today might be that day." He jumped up. "She's coding. You need to stay here. You can't be in the room with me." He ran towards the elevator and managed to slip in just before the doors closed. I went upstairs to the ICU waiting room and made myself comfortable. There was no way I could leave the hospital tonight. I didn't want her to pass away without me being there to try and make her as comfortable as possible. If there was a chance she even had one second of lucidity, I wanted to apologize and tell her that I got away from them and that she had at least two friends willing to do anything for her.


	8. Fight

Chapter Eight: Fight

Everything was white. I floated in a void of nothingness. I was weightless and everything around me went on forever. The irony of me floating in my own private infinite space made me laugh. Then red began to bleed through the white and leaves began to fly all around me. Wind roared in my ears and I hit the ground (or what felt like the ground) with a thud. "Rise, my child. You are needed to fight alongside your brothers and sisters." The deep baritone of the disembodied voice shook my whole world.

The red walls began to fall and I found myself in the ruins of Bloor's academy, in front of the big tree that seemed to always have its autumnal leaves even in the harshness of winter. The tree began to weep tears of blood and I reached out to touch it. It stained my hand but filled my soul with peace and serenity. I no longer felt pain or like a prisoner trapped in my own body.

I opened my eyes and sat up with a large gasp. The woman in green scrubs at the end of my bed screamed and dropped her clipboard. "Dr. Dobinski! 307 is conscious!"

"I just checked her about two minutes ago. She's in a coma, Rachel. She isn't coming out of it any time soon." A tall, thin man came storming into the room. His hair was black and curly and he looked like he hadn't slept in a few days. "Jesus Christ!" His eyes went wide and he rushed over to check my vitals. "Call Amy Bone immediately." He shined a light in both my eyes. "Do you know your name?"

"Infinity Jones." I squinted and tried to dodge his probing and prodding. "What the hell happened? Where am I?" I tried to stand up.

"Don't move!" He instructed. "You have a catheter in and a nasal tube." I blushed and I let him carefully remove my catheter and bag, wincing from how uncomfortable it was before he then moved to unhook what I assumed was a fluids hookup. "Don't strain yourself! You've been in a coma for a very long time. I need to make sure there is no long term brain damage. Please let me evaluate you."

"No, I'm really fine. I promise." I stood to my feet and the doctor went pale.

"You can walk? She's walking!" He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "You don't feel any grogginess, stiffness or pain?"

"Nope." I walked over to the window and peeked out. Everything was green and beautiful. The sky was a beautiful blue. "What?" I yanked the window open and a light breeze blew my hair out of my face. It smelled like summer. "What month is it?"

"It's June." He said carefully. "Infinity, I really think you should sit down. You've been through a lot in these past few months and all of this is a lot to take in. I really don't want you to overdo it."

I began to feel dizzy from overstimulation and sat down. "What happened to me? I don't remember."

"Well, what is the last thing you do remember?" He took a seat in the recliner next to my bed.

"I remember talking to my friend Zelda in school and finding an assignment I forgot to turn in. I went to go take it to that teacher's office and I don't think I ever made it. I don't remember anything else."

He smiled fondly. "Zelda is my daughter. It was she and Salem Bloor that found you. She was the one who stayed with you until the ambulance arrived. I really think you should hear what happened from your guardian or her."

"What's going on with everyone?" I heard Zelda's voice from down the hall and perked up. "Oh God. Is Infinity okay?" She ran in the room and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me sitting up, unhooked to all of my machines. Her hand flew to her mouth and she broke into a series of ugly sobs. "You're alive!" She stood a great distance away from me for a few minutes trying to stop herself from crying. All I could do was watch, not sure what to say. I didn't understand anything that as going on. When she gained her composure she ran up to the bed and hugged me. I was confused. Since when did Zelda care about me so much?

"Zelda, can you please tell me what happened?" I begged once she calmed down and could form a coherent sentence. She looked uncomfortable with the situation but I knew that she would tell me.

"This is what Salem and I were able to piece together." She played with the hem of her sundress. "You told me that you had to go do something really quick that morning and that you would meet me at assembly. You supposedly forgot to turn in an assignment on Friday and you found it in your locker. What you didn't know was that you did turn in that assignment and Asa planted it back in your locker because Manfred knew you would go back to turn it in. He and Asa waited for you. Asa bound your wrists together with a zip tie and Manfred tried to hypnotize you because he was afraid you would use your magic to help Charlie remember what his father looked like. Asa said they just wanted to scare you so you wouldn't want to try again. They didn't expect you to fight back. You broke all of Asa's toes on one foot and managed to break your restraints and that left Asa unable to chase you. That really pissed Manfred off so he threw you hard into a wall and tried to pin you down. You somehow managed to get an arm free and punched him as hard as you possibly could in the face. Manfred apparently lost his temper at that point. He ended up holding you down by strangling you and hypnotized you. He thought you were dead, stood up and left you in that hallway so someone else would find you. He originally planned to say that someone must have broken into the academy and attacked you, but Salem found you and already had an inkling of what happened. You went through a lot. Everyone thought that if you ever did wake up, you wouldn't be able to take care of yourself. But you're completely okay. Your magic must have saved you."

"Manfred and Asa did this?" I knew Manfred was a bad person, but I never thought that he would try to kill me.

"I had Salem wipe all of my memories of whatever Bloor secrets I knew and I broke up with Manfred. I swear. Please don't be mad at me. I had nothing to do with this."

"I'm not mad at you." I smiled at her and threw my arms around her neck. "Thank you for being such a good friend to me, even if we haven't known each other very long."

"I'm just so happy you woke up before I left for University."

"I missed my graduation?" Everything began to set in a little deeper. It was June. I had been in a coma for five months and all of my classmates had graduated. I was going to have to go back to Bloor's in the fall and stay for at least another semester. My life had been put on hold. I was going to have to catch up on everything that I had missed. I began to tear up.

"If I tell you something really funny will you promise not to be sad?" She put her hand over mine. "Back in May, a new girl showed up to the academy. She was beautiful and her name was Belle. Asa fell in love with her."

"Asa fell in love with a girl?" I wasn't sure if I heard her right.

"That's not the funny part. She was a shape-shifter who was over 100 years old! And Asa knew that… He fell in love with her anyway." She covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle. "I wish you could have been there when all of that unfolded. Salem and I found it hilarious."

I joined Zelda in laughter and I was all too happy to catch up on everything that I missed. I felt like a normal teenage girl sharing secrets with her best friend.

I was discharged the day that I woke up. Dr. Dobinski ran test after test, only to find that my body had essentially reset itself. It was if nothing had happened.

About a week after returning back home, Aunt Amy called Charlie and I downstairs for dinner. She had Paton with her and they both looked solemn than usual. She led us into the dining room where Maisie had prepared a delicious meal, but all the cheerfulness had left her face.

"Hey Aunt Amy, did my mom contact you at all while I was comatose?" I found myself asking. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her. Everyone was already in an apparently shitty mood, so I figured this would be the time to ask.

"Ah, no. She didn't." She murmured awkwardly.

"I'm honestly not surprised." I stabbed at a steamed carrot with my fork and stuck it in my mouth. It was delicious. Maisie always cooked them with brown sugar. "I don't know why she went through all the trouble to have a kid if she didn't even want one."

"She did at first." Aunt Amy said defensively. "She cried and cried because she wasn't able to conceive, but she always wanted what she couldn't have." She let out a loud sigh. "About sixteen years ago, when I was a little bit older than you, I fell in love with a man. He was a little older than me and had already graduated high school, but I didn't care. I ended up pregnant. Lyell and I didn't know what to do. I had left home and dropped out of school and had no contact with my family. I had to go live with my sister and she was there with me when I had the baby. She offered to adopt her, saying that she could provide her with the life that Lyell and I were unable to give her… She even gave her my last name so that I felt like she would have a piece of me everywhere she went."

I felt a pit in my stomach. I knew where this story was going. I started to stand up from the table. I needed to leave. I couldn't process all of this information that was being hurled at me all at once. I had just woken up from a coma, and now I was being told that not only was I adopted, but my biological mother was my aunt and I had a brother? "You just gave me away?"

"No! I gave Lily guardianship and I expected her to stick around so I could at least spend time with you and watch you grow up. The plan was to tell you the truth when you got a little bit older, but she just took all of her things and moved across the world and we never heard from her again until her husband died. We didn't know what to do. Adoptions can't usually be reversed unless you were in danger, and after Maisie finally found out about everything, she offered to take you, no strings attached. Ailwyn refused, saying that Lily just needed more time. And then they were gone." She also stood up, unsure if I was going to bolt or not. To be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do either.

"And we certainly didn't know that Ailwyn would give you that ridiculous name." Maisie cut in. "If I would have known about you, I would have let Amy and Lyell come back and live with me again, but Amy was so scared and embarrassed. There was just so much confusion and miscommunication at the time. None of us handled the situation as we should have. Lillian was very adamant about adopting you at the time, and Amy believed it was the best possible future for you when she signed the papers."

"Wait." Charlie said slowly, the seriousness of the conversation finally sunk into his brain. "Are you saying that Infinity is my sister?"

"I'm sorry." I eyed the archway to the foyer. "I just need to get away from here and process all of this."

"You really shouldn't go anywhere alone." Paton advised. "You may have woken up from your coma unscathed, but anything could happen."

"I'll be fine." I spun on my heel and marched out the door. I didn't even know where I wanted to go. I just started walking through Cathedral Square towards Main Street. Aunt Amy and Uncle Lyell were my biological parents and I was just now being told. It began to make sense though, considering I looked nothing like my mother and exactly like Aunt Amy.

I tried to put myself in her shoes. She was my age when she got pregnant. Maisie had also mentioned that she had also been young when she had my mother, and blamed my mother's attitude and awful personality on spoiling a child because she didn't know how to properly raise one. What would I do if I was put in that position? Aunt Amy had good intentions. She thought she was giving me a better life. She had thought my mother was as excited as my father, but when she realized that my mother didn't have a single nurturing bone in her body, it was already too late. It made sense why it didn't seem like she had that unconditional parental love for me, but not once did I ever doubt that my father loved me. I walked and walked until I reached a park and I sat down on the marble lip of the central fountain. The sun warmed water came up and splashed my exposed skin when the stream hit the basin. It felt nice and the sound was calming. I couldn't be mad at Aunt Amy. She really did what she thought was best at the time.

I didn't understand why my life had to fall apart like this all at once. The man who I thought was my father was dead. Despite being gone often, I loved my father and enjoyed every second that he was home. I was forced to move to a completely different country, my "mother" dropped me off and abandoned me here, I was forced to go to a private school after years of never really interacting with people my own age, I found out that I was a freak, I was almost killed by a lunatic, and now I come to find that I never got to know my real parents at all. Lillian just whisked me away from them, and probably only agreed to adopt me because my father wanted children. She didn't want him to leave. She needed his money.

Now Charlie's battle was my battle. I felt more determined than ever to find Lyell than ever before. I needed to think long and hard about that photograph of him from so long ago. I stood up from the fountain and let myself lay under a large, shady oak tree. I closed my eyes and tried to remember. "Come on." I murmured. "If I'm a witch, then I should be able to use some kind of witchy power or spell to remember him." I concentrated really hard and put my hands on my head. "Come on, come on."

The magic began to flow slowly, and then it all hit me at once. It made me jump and when I opened my eyes. My hands were glowing and I decided to close my eyes once more and cover them with my hands. Messy, wavy black hair, round brown eyes.

I knew that face.

We were right.

The Bloors paraded him in front of us the whole time. I jumped up from the ground and began to run as fast as I possibly could back to Aunt Amy's house. "It's Mr. Pilgrim." I said out loud, feeling liberated. I wish I had paid better attention to my surroundings. If I would have been more calm, I would have known that I had been followed to the park, I would have seen someone step onto the sidewalk, reach their arm out, and grab me.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Dr. Bloor's voice came from behind me. Rather than loud and thunderous, it was soft as if he was trying not to be heard. I tried to turn around to look at him, but he held me firmly in place. "I'm going to handle this how it should have been handled months ago. Efficiently, quietly and quickly. You can come with me by will or I will have to use force. But I will not hurt you."

"You'll have to kill me before I go anywhere with you." I said defiantly. "Did you all get a laugh out of Charlie's expense? Waving his father in front of his face like that? Did you all laugh every time they passed each other in the hall, any time Charlie ever talked to him? Shit, did you know he was my father too? Did Manfred enjoy introducing him to me, knowing that I had no idea who he was?"

"This has nothing to do with punishing Charlie or even you. Lyell needed to be stopped."

"Because he was interfering with your meddling? Because he tried to stop you from treating a two year old child as currency? I know all about Emma Tolly. Paton told me the story the night I came home." I looked over my shoulder. I was about to yell for help when Dr. Bloor clamped his hand over my mouth. I tried to break free but he was much stronger than I was, and I couldn't get my mouth open enough to bite him.

"Damn it, Weedon! Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me get her in the car?!"

"Hold on. Mr. Ezekiel said she might fight. He gave me this!" I felt something get placed on my shoulders. At that moment, my body began to feel like it was made of lead and I lost consciousness.

"It's almost ready." I heard the voice of an incredibly elderly sounding man as I started to regain consciousness. I was dazed and confused and I could barely move my limbs. Everything felt too heavy. I tried to lift my head with no avail. "Ah. She's waking up."

I heard a door creak open but I still couldn't see anything. The smell of chocolate filled my nose. "Here you go, Grandfather. What are you doing up here anyway?" That voice. It belonged to Salem. "Another one of your awful experiments? Who is the unlucky victim this time?" His footsteps were hurried and got closer. He pulled something off of me. It was a blanket. Once he removed it, I could almost move again. That had been what was restricting me. "Infinity?"

"Leave her be, Salem." The ancient voice bellowed. For the first time, I could see the man that this voice belonged to. He was a skeleton with skin. I could see all the bones in his face, his eyes were sunken in and hallow, his hair hung down in waxy strands. Most of his teeth were rotted out of his face. "You can be excused. I have work to do."

"No. She hasn't done anything wrong. I warned you to leave her alone." He brushed my hair out of his face. He leaned in close. "Infinity, can you hear me?"

I was still groggy but I nodded. "She figured it all out. So instead of killing her like your idiot brother wanted to do, you're going to wipe her memory after I take her power for myself. I was told that she walked out of the hospital the day she woke up from her coma. It's been awhile since I've come across a youthful yet powerful witch." He let out a crackling laugh. "If I can successfully siphon her abilities, I'll be able to walk again. I could be young again."

"I'm not letting you do that." He lifted me over his shoulder in one fluid motion and had me in a fireman's carry.

"I have two idiot grandsons. Manfred! GET IN HERE, NOW!"

Manfred, who had been inside of an adjoining room, walked out. "What is it now?" He noticed Salem and I almost immediately, putting together what was happening. I put all of my focus on Manfred the best I could. When he stepped forward to try and apprehend us, he walked straight into a protective ward.

"Run." I whispered, and Salem did exactly that. I didn't expect much of a chase. We managed to run out of what I assumed was an attic and down the dark corridor. None of the candle sconces were lit and it was impossible to navigate the labyrinthine hallways. Then we heard the howl. It chilled me to the bone and I could feel the goose bumps on Salem's arms. "Hurry up and put me down! We have to run!" He sat me down on the floor and we took off even faster. We wouldn't be able to outrun a beast, we needed to find somewhere safe and get there fast.

"Shit." He yanked open a plain wooden door in the hallway and shut it once we both squeezed inside. I heard a snarl and something slammed into the door so violently that it began to splinter.

"I don't know what to do!" I yelled over the thumping. "The door isn't going to hold."

"I'm not quite sure how your powers work, but try to put all of your energy into your hand if you can. I can't manipulate Asa when he's in his beast state."

I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to focus. I felt a tingling in my right hand and when I peeked down at it, the whole thing was glowing. Salem quickly grabbed my wrist and pressed my hand into the door. When Asa bashed into it again, he let out a loud howl of pain and ran off. "How long is that going to last?" I asked, looking at Salem.

"I...I don't know? I honestly didn't know that it would work." I was no longer able to create a source of light but when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out the outline of a light bulb. I stood up and managed to feel my way along the wall for a light switch. The light came to life and we were able to see around the closet. There was nothing else in here with us other than boxes filled with old text books. There was at least enough room for us to at least sit. "Shit, your hand." Salem frowned. When I looked down, I could see that it was bleeding kind of heavily, yet I didn't feel any pain. I wasn't sure what was happening, but Salem didn't hesitate to lift his shirt over his head and wrap my hand for me. We awkwardly stood in the closet and now he was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts and slippers. I looked up at the ceiling to avoid looking at him. "Are you okay?" He asked finally.

I sat down on the closet floor and he followed my lead. "I've been better. I can't seem to stay out of trouble." I leaned my head back against the wall. "So, what's the plan?"

He shrugged and shot me a crooked smile. "I guess we're going to spend the night in the closet until I can think of something better."


	9. Runaways

Chapter Nine: Runaways

When I woke up, my whole body was sore. Salem had fallen asleep with his back against the wall and I had my head on his lap. His hand was in my hair. Whenever I started to move around a bit, he suppressed a yawn and spoke. "It's 7. So what's the plan? Asa is certainly out of beast mode, but you and I are going to be in a lot of trouble." He said slowly.

"So? Can't you just manipulate their minds or whatever it is you do so they leave us alone?" I sat up and attempted to stretch out my limbs, but I didn't have much room. My whole body was sore and I had a dull headache.

"I tried, and I think my grandfather did something to me too. I can't do anything that I used to be able to do. I can barely even read your thoughts and you're right in front of my face. My grandfather is a magician. He's exactly what you don't want to become, but he's proof that you hold great power. That kind of power shouldn't be given to someone like him. It's also proof that bad magic can make you incredibly haggard and ugly. He's 102 but looks much older than that, doesn't he?"

"Seriously?" I shuddered. I never planned using my magic for evil, but that was a nice reminder. "So, what are we going to do? You can't change my mind, and he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants, no matter if we get hurt in the process." I stared at the splintered door. The slight glow it had last night was fading. "Whatever I did to this door isn't going to hold much longer."

"Let's just get out of here and go somewhere they can't find us for a little while, at least until we can find a good solution." He smiled at me, grabbed my hand and opened the door. We gasped at what we saw when the door opened. A trail of blood lead down the hallway away from us. That must have been where Asa ran the night before. "Holy shit." Salem whispered, gently tugging me away from the trail. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"There!" We heard a shout from down the hallway. Manfred and Asa stood, both out for blood. Most of Asa's face and arm was bruised and caked with dry blood. Manfred's hands were in the same condition. They had tried to open the door and failed.

"I have my car keys. Let's go." He gripped my hand even tighter and dragged me down the hall. We ran through the hallways and straight out the door to his car. We were already driving away by the time they caught up with us. I could see the exasperated frustration on Manfred's face as he realized that he didn't have his keys on him. We laughed and laughed as we put the academy behind us.

We drove as far as we could out of the city. We blared the radio and sang to each other, I rolled down the windows and rested my feet on the dashboard. We ate drive thru food and stopped only to use the bathroom. We drove until the sky went dark and we didn't know where we were. We stopped at the first inn we saw and picked up supplies at the closest general store. We bought cheap, plain clothes, toiletries, and some food. I was happy that Salem had money on him and that we wouldn't starve. "I withdrew as much money from the ATM as I could at one time before they got the chance to freeze my cards. That's what took me so long at the gas station." He explained. "We need to take the battery out of our phones too, just so they can't track us that way. At least we'll be safe until we can figure out what to do. Or at least until my powers get back to how they were." He grabbed a towel off of the rack and piled some clothes on top of it before sauntering into the bathroom. He shut the door and I heard him turn on the shower. I popped some microwave popcorn, sprawled out on my stomach on the bed and turned on the television. I flipped through channel after channel hoping to find something good and finally settled on the late night news.

It was all typical evening news stuff. There was a robbery at the bank, a fire at the paper factory, someone got into a drunken fight outside of a pub. Then the news got interesting. The reporter issued an amber alert. My face was plastered on the screen next to Salem's. "Salem! Get out here right now!" I yelled, turning up the volume. He rushed out of the bathroom thinking that I was in possible danger with the towel wrapped lazily around his hips and his hair dripping wet.

"Are you alright? What's going on?!" He looked around the room frantically until he noticed our pictures up on the television.

"16 year old Infinity Jones went missing from Timoken yesterday. She was reported missing by her aunt and grandmother, whom she lives with. She is about five foot four with long, straight blonde hair and hazel eyes. Finding her is high priority because of health issues. She was last seen by witnesses at Redwood Park around 6pm. She was said to be wearing a pair of light denim shorts, a yellow tank top and white tennis shoes." Salem's picture flashed back onto the screen. "Also missing from Timoken, is 18 year old Salem Bloor, son of millionaire and headmaster of Bloor's academy, Harold Bloor and retired orchestra violinist Dorothy Bloor. Reported missing by his father, Salem was last seen a little over 24 hours ago in their family home. He is six foot two and has black hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, black basket ball shorts and a pair of black slippers. The two teens are assumed to be together. Finding Salem is also high priority for health reasons as well. They were both last seen in a silver two door car with license plate DR45 LMJ. A press conference was issued by his twin brother, Manfred Bloor." Recorded footage appeared on the screen. "My brother is prone to act on impulse and none of us are sure why he ran off with the girl. A very generous reward will be issued to whoever finds him. It would be a shame if anything bad were to happen because neither of them thought their actions through." His words were ominous with a hidden meaning behind them. I knew what he meant. If I got a hold of Charlie and told him what I knew, someone in my family would be killed.

"What a dirty little liar." Salem murmured under his breath. "You should probably call your mother and let her know you're safe. We have a lot to do to ensure than you and I don't get caught. I know a lot of people will be after that money." He rummaged through a bag and pulled out scissors and hair dye. "Luckily, I was one step ahead."

I cut his hair and he cut mine. He just simply put my long hair in a ponytail and cut it straight across so my hair was to my chin. I dyed it black and hoped that would be enough. I actually cringed a little bit when I cut Salem's hair much shorter. He had confided in me that it had taken him a long time to grow that hair back after chemotherapy. "I'm so sorry." I frowned at him when I had finished.

"It's okay." He pulled me into a hug and laughed. "It'll grow back. I guess I can let my facial hair grow too. It seems that I'm the only one in my family that can grow both a mustache and a beard." When he let me go, he held his hands on my shoulders and looked at me. "With your hair like that, you actually kind of look a little like your father."

"Do you think so?" I looked at myself in the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair. "I've never dyed my hair before. This is all weird for me."

"You'll get used to it." He pulled the phone off of the bedside table and dialed a number quickly before handing it to me. "Now, call your mother before she thinks you're dead. I need to go do something about the car, and possibly pay off the guy who checked us in."


	10. Charlie: Cotton Candy Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told in Charlie's POV

Chapter Ten: Cotton Candy Kiss

Charlie

Infinity never came home. Originally, Uncle Paton insisted that we go after her immediately, but mom and Maisie wanted to give her time. It felt strange knowing that I had a sister all this time, but had never been told. I couldn't imagine how Infinity must have felt. So we waited. We waited until the sun went down and the looming threat of Asa Pike possibly being out there somewhere made everyone feel uneasy. My mother called the police and they immediately issued the alert because of her medical complications and the fact that she had just been in a coma the week before. They looked everywhere, but there wasn't a single sign of her.

They had asked if she was a runaway, but nothing from her room was missing besides the cellphone she carried on her at all times. No matter how many times it was called, it went straight to voicemail. Everyone we knew searched day and night, until finally someone mentioned briefly seeing her in the park. There wasn't much to go on after that. My mother was in a panic, unable to sleep or eat. "I just got her back. I can't lose her again." She sobbed. Then the news came on and we saw the missing person's report for Salem Bloor. "They did this!" She stood to her feet, screeching at the television (and my mother never raised her voice). "Oh my god. She's dead, Charlie. They've killed her."

"Mom. No. Salem missing as well is good news." I put my hand on her shoulder. "He and Infinity are friends. I bet they are somewhere safe, hiding out. Look, Manfred says they'll give a reward if they find him."

"I'm afraid they might be looking for Infinity too. Something must have happened that caused Salem and Infinity to run." Uncle Paton frowned.

"She's barely been conscious for a week. She hasn't met up with anyone since being home. What could she have possibly done to cause them to come after her?" My mother continued to pace the room.

"She was trying to help me remember dad at one point. Maybe she figured it out?" I shrugged.

And then the phone rang. Uncle Paton was the one who picked it up. "Ye Gods! Infinity! Where the are you!? We have been worried sick. Are you safe? Do you need me to come get you?"

Mom jumped up from the couch and pried the phone from his hands. "Infinity, sweetie, please come home. We won't let anything happen to you. I'm so sorry about everything! Did you remember something about Lyell? Is that why this is happening?" I watched her face fall when she got the answer she didn't want to hear. "Oh… you didn't?" And then anger. "They what!? Those greedy animals!"

Grandma Bone decided to make her presence known from the front door. "Who is on the phone?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Those awful bill collectors." Mom slammed down the phone. "Calling at a time like this. The nerve of those greedy animals!" She gave me a look that told me that I should follow her, Paton too. "We're going out to try and see if anyone else has seen Infinity. Paton. Charlie. Let's go." She grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me out the door. I had never seen my mother act in such a way. It was terrifying. We climbed into Uncle Paton's car and engine turned over. "We're going to the academy. Now. Don't you dare try to talk me out of it. I need to find out what happened."

In the few minutes that Infinity was able to speak with mom, she was able to fill in the blanks of the night she went missing. She had been grabbed in the park by Dr. Bloor and Mr. Weedon. From there, she was knocked unconscious and finally woke up in the attic of Bloor's academy. Infinity's ability to completely heal herself from the extreme trauma she endured at the hands of Manfred had piqued Old Mr. Ezekiel's interest. He wanted her power for himself and planned to find a way to siphon it, leaving Infinity a powerless shell. To ensure his plan worked, he had something done to Salem that rendered his endowment useless. Salem managed to help her escape, but now they were forced to hide out until they could figure out a new plan.

When we arrived at the academy, we were surprised to find the doors were unlocked. Uncle Paton remembered the academy from when he attended and had no problem remembering how to access the West Wing. We went up the large stairway and into what I assumed was the Bloor family sitting room. Only Dr. Bloor and Manfred were present and they seemed to be discussing something important. When they saw us, their eyes went wide.

Dr. Bloor stood up, obviously flustered and caught off guard. "Mrs. Bone, what are you doing here? This is highly inappropriate."

"My daughter is missing." She began to shake again, like she was going to lose her nerve. She steadied when Uncle Paton put his hand on her shoulder. "I don't know where she is."

"Well, she isn't here." He barked. "Maybe if you paid better attention to what your children were doing-"

"I pay plenty of attention to what my children are doing, thank you very much. You don't have any room to talk. From what I have been told, your son is missing as well." She snapped. Her nerve was back. "I am not a bad parent. I make my children face when they do something wrong. I don't cover it up with money." She turned to address Manfred directly. "You never would have been able to walk out of that courtroom if Judge Sage had been on the bench like he was supposed to be that day. I'm sure there is a special place for you in hell after what you have put my family through." She pointed a finger at Manfred. "You took Lyell from us, you almost killed my daughter, and you almost had my son killed his first month here with that awful beast."

"We didn't take your husband. He's dead. He drove off of a quarry. And we don't know where Infinity is either." Manfred rose from his chair next. He was intimidated by Unclel Paton and kept his distance.

Paton looked at the lamp next to him and the light bulb exploded, causing everyone to jump. "You're a bad liar. I saw your little message. You said that you believe they're together. Tell me where my niece is now, or else."

"She and Salem drove off. I wasn't able to follow. He withdrew money just outside of town before his accounts were frozen and his phone is turned off." He yelled over the pop of the remaining light bulbs. I noticed his hands were bleeding and scarred and raw. "But why are you so upset, Amy? You gave her away, didn't you?"

She tried to pretend that Manfred's words didn't make her feel guilty, but we all knew that they did. She didn't talk much for the next few days and called off work until further notice. Olivia Vertigo came over after Infinity had been missing for about nine days on behalf of all of my friends, who I had dropped contact with. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but I let her in anyway. She said a quick hello to my mother and we went upstairs into my room where we could discuss Infinity without mom hearing her name and shutting down even more.

"Wow, your mom looks so frail and sad. I don't think I've ever seen her so down in the dumps before." She noted, sitting down on Infinity's bed. "What's the deal?"

"I found out some really heavy things the other day, and so did Infinity." I sat down on my own bed and focused on Olivia's light pink hair. She looked like cotton candy. "The day Infinity went missing, my mom told us that Infinity isn't really my cousin. She's actually my older sister."

"That does make sense." Olivia remarked. "Didn't you ever notice how she's the spitting image of your mother? That should have been a dead giveaway."

"You could at least act a little surprised since neither of us knew." I rolled my eyes. "It was harder on Infinity than it was me. She had to live with my awful Aunt Lillian for years."

"So when do you think she's going to come home?"

"I have no idea. When she called, she told us that Salem had lost his powers. The Bloors had done something to him and they can't figure out what it is. Once he gets his powers back, he can make them forget everything and then they won't hurt her." I leaned back into my bed. "This is all beyond my help. I don't know what to do. Usually I can fix a situation no matter how hopeless. Look what I did for Emma, Henry and Ollie Sparks. But they're going after her in a way that I can't even do anything to stop it and she's my family. They don't want her hidden or hypnotized. Old Mr. Bloor wants her powers for himself. And then they managed to control the one person who could have made this all go away."

"But she doesn't even know what her powers are." Olivia noted.

"I think she figured it out. When I saw Manfred, his hands were all raw and bloody. I think Infinity did that. And when she tried to get me to remember my father she ended up curing my headache instead." I smirked at the memory and touched my temple. "She even healed herself. Dr. Dobinski said that people comatose for as long as Infinity was usually start to waste away. They lose the muscles in their legs and because they can't eat, their bodies suffer a lot. Infinity spontaneously started to heal herself, and then she woke up completely fine. Like she woke up from a nap or something."

"Thats...amazing." Olivia gasped. "No wonder that nasty old man is interested in her endowment. I guess that means that we're going to have to find a way to keep Infinity safe so she can come home again, right?" She shrugged and stood to her feet. "I'm going to the café to meet with everyone else and to see if we can figure something out. Do you want to come with?"

"Oh, Liv. Please don't. I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Uncle Paton and I will handle it."

"Then I guess you're going to have to come with me to stop me." She twirled on her heel and marched towards the door. I jumped up and grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She smiled at me and batted her long, mascara coated eyelashes before kissing me on the cheek and running out the door. I blushed and followed close behind.

When we arrived at the Café, everyone sat at our usual table and stared at us with sad eyes. I decided to fill them in on everything that I knew and they all realized that the situation was hopeless, as I had tried to explain before. "I can't believe they would go after her again. Especially with that close call Manfred had." Gabriel frowned, looking down at his hands. "Do you have anything of hers on you? Maybe I can try and find her."

"Do you need to have something she wore the night she was taken?" I asked.

"No, just about anything will do. It will help me see her emotions. Like the ones she's feeling right now. It might give something away."

"See! I knew Gabe could help." Olivia lit up and dug something out of her purse. It was a tank top that I recognized as Infinity's. "I saw it sitting on her bed, bunched up by a pillow. I bet it wasn't even washed yet."

"I...uh. I'm going to have to put it on." Gabe awkwardly shifted in his seat. He took the shirt from Olivia's hands and held it out in front of him. It was a solid black tank-top with one of her favorite band logos on it. Luckily for Gabe, it was a unisex size small and he would be able to fit it.

"Can you put it over the shirt you have on now, or...?" Tancred raised a curious brow.

"Yeah, but I'm going to look rather silly. I wish you would have grabbed a glove or a hat or something."

"It's summer." Olivia shrugged. "You're lucky I thought to even grab that."

Gabe pulled the tank top over his own shirt and took a deep breath. When there weren't any immediate signs of pain or sadness, I felt relieved. "She's very anxious, but at the moment she feels little bursts of happiness. Other times she feels overwhelmed because she knows something she shouldn't."

"I think I know why they took her." I lowered my head. "She must have figured out where our father was. Or she at least remembered what he looked like. That's why they grabbed her. Ezekiel wanting to figure out how to take her power was an afterthought..."


	11. On The Road

Chapter Eleven: On The Road

We had made this tiny motel room home for the past month and we were getting sick of living off of microwave food and sharing our tiny bathroom. At the moment, I was standing in the shower trying to rinse out the last of my hair dye since it had faded mostly anyway and looked bad because it was so cheap and Salem was standing over the bathroom sink shaving. "Ugh." I heard him groan. "I need to clean my plugs." Salem had his ears stretched. They weren't very big, but they were noticeable. "They smell."

I shook my head and thought _What did you expect? It's all dead skin. You should just let the holes close anyway._

"Well, excuse the shit out of me." Salem said over the running water.

"Wait." I peeked out from around the curtain. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you. You're not exactly quiet." He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. Then his eyes went wide. "Shit, you didn't say that out loud, did you?"

"No. I didn't." A grin spread over my face. "That's what was controlling you. Those plugs."

"Shit. You're right. I put these ones in right before I came upstairs to give grandfather his hot chocolate. They knew that I was going to try and interfere. They didn't know we were going to escape though." He dropped them in the garbage. "Wow. I guess that means we can go back. We'll never have to eat another hot pocket again. We have some money left over. Why don't we go out somewhere nice tonight, just the two of us?"

"Great. I'll put on my best black t-shirt." I laughed at him. "Salem, we barely have any clothes."

"You're right." He looked back at the mirror and ran his hand through the stubble on his head. "I guess you'll have to let me take you out when we get back. Hurry up and finish and I'll pack everything into the car." He grabbed everything of his in his arms and carried it out of the bathroom. By the time I finished my shower and got dressed, everything was packed into the car. I did happen to notice that Salem was looking a little pale, however. "I managed to do a little bit of manipulation on my grandfather and brother, but they're so far away that it gave me a really nasty headache. I really had to focus." He laid down on the bed and pressed his thumbs into his eyes. "I think I need a minute before I can drive."

"Hold on." I crawled on the bed next to him and placed his head on my lap. "Just relax"

He did as he was told and I rested my hands on his temples. Like they usually did whenever I tried to use my magic, my fingertips began to glow lightly. He immediately began to look more peaceful and rested. He brought his hands up to cover mine and gave me a soft smile. "You are an angel." He murmured. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"None of this would have happened in the first place." I laughed and pushed him off of me. "Let's go."

We got into our car and began the long drive back home. We were several hours away and neither of us were really prepared for this trip. We decided to play some stupid version of Truth or Truth to learn about the stupid mundane things of each other's lives that we hadn't learned in our uninterrupted time together. "Wait, so you mean to tell me that you've never had a boyfriend, you've never been kissed and you've never been on a date?" Salem stopped short at a red light and stared at me. I felt forward from the suddenness and caught myself. "You're lying. Look at you! You're beautiful."

I blushed and tried to laugh it off. "Well, I was home schooled. I've never really been around boys. I talked to guys on the internet and stuff, but that's about it."

"You lived in a city." He shook his head. "You could have met people easily. I mean, you're really awkward, but it's an endearing kind of awkward that would have made you a lot of friends. I bet this year at the academy you'll make a lot more friends assuming you aren't nearly killed the first week there."

"It's not my fault I was almost killed my first week there." I rolled my eyes. "How many girlfriends have you had?" I asked.

"Well, contrary to popular belief, girls don't dig guys with cancer." He laughed. "But they do dig guys with money and power. And for that reason, I've never had an actual girlfriend. I never feel like they like me for me. I mean, I've hooked up with girls and whatnot because I'm a teenage boy."

"Weird, I never noticed." We shared a laugh. We still had about four more hours of driving before we would be home. "Have you ever been drunk?"

"Yeah. The first time was when Manfred and I were sixteen. Dad had this bottle of good whiskey hidden in the bottom drawer of the desk in his study so we decided to sneak in there one night and started drinking. We were kind of stupid when it came to alcohol so we each took a nice big swig and we were sure we were going to throw up all over the carpet. Then we got over it and drank way too much too fast and ended up getting the spins and throwing up on his carpet anyway. What about you?"

"I've drank wine and champagne before, but I've never been drunk. Dad would always pour us both a glass when he would come home from a trip and he would tell me stories. He wasn't around much, but I really did love him and he was very good to me. It's nice to know that I get another chance at a father. That is if we ever find out where and who he thinks he is."

Salem suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?" I asked, sensing his tenseness.

"Nothing." He looked at me and smiled. "I hope you figure out who he is someday too. It's still your turn to ask questions."

"Hmm." I pushed a stray hair behind my ear. "What is the worst thing you have ever done to someone?"

His face turned red and for the first time, Salem didn't know how to answer a question. "I haven't used my pass yet. I'll use it now." He was embarrassed. I assumed that he had to do something horrible under the control of his family and I wasn't going to press it any further. "I know he wasn't your biological dad, but I know that doesn't make it hurt any less that he's gone. I'm happy that at least one of your adoptive parents treated you the way you deserved to be treated."

We spent the rest of the car trip in silence. Neither of us really felt up to talking anymore. We still had a ton to say to each other but it was obvious we both had our own battles going on in our heads on that ride home. I decided to focus on Lyell. I needed to remember what he looked like. I needed to remember that photograph. I rubbed my hands together and put the bottoms of my palms on my temples. I needed to remember. Thick, wavy brown hair, round brown eyes…

I missed the ocean. That was my favorite part of California. I liked to watch the sun set over the water and go out on the boat with my dad. I was there when he tagged the first Great White for migratory season. He wasn't even afraid when it jumped out of the water.

Wait, what? No! I didn't want to think about the ocean. I wanted to think about Lyell. I needed to remember. I absolutely had to remember Christmas morning ten years ago. I was so excited when I got the easy bake oven I asked for. I was disappointed when the treats came out looking nothing like the ones on the box, but I did remember that they tasted pretty good.

I snapped back to reality when the car swerved. I looked over in time to see Salem's head hit the steering wheel with a thud. He was unconscious. Nothing had caused this. It just… happened. I grabbed the wheel and drove us off the road. Thankfully there was nothing but field and I was able to activate the emergency brake. "Salem!" I yelled, shaking him to consciousness. His nose was gushing blood and his eyes were glazed over. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

I found it strange that he snapped out of his stupor just as quickly as he entered it. "Shit. I'm sorry." He looked at me and wiped his nose. Something in his eyes looked strange, and then he smiled. "Those damn deer, huh?"

"Yeah. I can't believe it just ran in front of us like that in the middle of the day. I thought we were goners." I reached towards his face to attempt to heal the wound, but he shrugged me away. "You're bleeding. At least let me help you."

"Ah, it's nothing, Fin. It'll stop in a minute."


	12. Salem: Liar, Liar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told in Salem's POV

Books » Charlie Bone » Infinity  
Author: dirtyblueballoons  
Rated: M - English - Drama/Romance - Reviews: 12 - Published: 04-29-15 - Updated: 11-02-17 id:11217153

Chapter 12: Liar, Liar (Salem)

Infinity's question was stuck in my head for the rest of the trip. "What was the worst think you ever did to someone?" I had to use my pass. The worst thing I ever did to someone is what I was doing at that very moment. It was for her own safety that I had to make her forget who Lyell was. But she was just so stubborn and persistent and strong. My endowment shattered memories and scattered them. It usually didn't take me much effort, but she was so fucking good at fixing things. Every time I tried to rearrange the memory, she would piece it back together again. It took all my strength to permanently destroy the memory. She would never be able to remember Lyell unless someone pointed and specifically said "Hey, That man is Lyell Bone."

I felt awful for it, but I didn't want her to get hurt anymore. If someone was going to find Lyell, it would have to be Charlie. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want Charlie to be put in danger instead. I knew that his friends and family would protect them but the thought of the girl I found myself falling in love with being put in danger because of my family made me sick to my stomach. Besides, it wasn't time for Lyell to be found, at least not yet. There were more people that needed to return to the city first, and more secrets to be uncovered.

After I took Infinity home, life went back to normal. The whole incident was chalked up to us being stupid teenagers. Those who knew the truth kept their mouths shut, and those who didn't eventually stopped talking about it. I was confident that my family would stop trying to bother Infinity and that she could finish out her last school year without any problems. The week before school was to start back up, I decided to call her since I hadn't seen her since we made it back home. "Why are you using a phone?" She asked me when she answered. "Why do you even pay for a phone service?"

"Well, hello to you too." I rolled my eyes and sat up in my bed. "Sometimes I like to try and do things like a normal person. Is that a crime?"

"No." She laughed at me. I had missed her laugh. "So what did you call for?"

"I can't just call you? Maybe I missed you. It has been what, two weeks since I saw you last? Aren't normal friends this day and age supposed to talk every day? Oh wait, I forgot. You were a hermit before this. You don't know how to keep relationships and shit." I teased her. "But this is purely academy business. I wanted to know if you would be interested in changing departments. With Zelda gone, I figured you wouldn't be comfortable being trapped in the drama department. There's an opening in the music department this year. Do you want to take it?"

"Oh…" Her voice got really quiet. "I don't think we can afford to buy me new capes. Or an instrument."

"That's not a problem, Fin." I laughed. "I'll take care of it all for you. It's not a big deal. I just don't want you to feel trapped with Asa Pike."

"Wait, I thought Asa graduated." I could hear the dread in her voice. I forgot that she had been comatose and wasn't around to see Asa fail literally every last one of his final exams, forcing him to be held back for another year.

"Not exactly." I didn't have the heart to tell her that Manfred would be coming back too. I kept my mouth shut. Manfred at least had graduated on time like he was supposed to, but he was beginning his training to eventually take over the academy in place of my father.

"Then yes. I want to switch departments." Her voice ripped me out of my thoughts. We carried on a short conversation for little while after, where I informed her that she was to a prefect this year due to her grades being so high (and the strings I was able to pull) and I let her know what duties she was to perform. She and I also talked about our weeks a part a little bit before I could hear her grandmother yelling at her to get off of her phone before she took it. I was able to gather she was just annoyed because she couldn't eavesdrop on it like she did with Charlie and the landline.

I was able to clear all of the changes to Infinity's file with my father. I wasn't expecting them to put her in Mr. Pilgrim's piano classes though. I felt like it was a big cruel game to stick her next to her father knowing that he would never remember her and she was completely blocked from ever remembering him. I didn't try to fight it though. I was happy enough that they were willing to switch her into a new department (with a little bit of my influence) so she could have more classes with me. At least then I would be able to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe.

When Monday rolled around, I decided I wanted to pick Charlie and Infinity up so they wouldn't have to ride the buses the first day. I got in my car, drove to Filbert Street and knocked on the door. Mrs. Bone answered and was surprised to see me. "Salem! I wasn't expecting to see you here this morning." She had just gotten out of bed and that much was obvious.

"Salem?" Maisie poked her head out from the kitchen and smiled a large smile. "Amy, don't be rude. There's enough breakfast for him too." She pulled me into the house and into the kitchen where Charlie and Infinity were having a loud disagreement over who deserved the last piece of bacon.

"Neither of you are getting it." Maisie scolded as she fixed me a plate and sat it down at the seat next to Charlie. I slid into my spot at the table and devoured the bacon without breaking eye contact with Infinity. She scowled at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I brought you a present. And I'm bringing you both to school. You should be nicer to me." I handed the package I had brought with me across the table and Infinity took it. "Open it."

"I was making a very strong case on why I should get that last piece of bacon and then you waltzed in here and-" She took her knife and cut the tape on the box. She blushed and gave me a shy smile when she pulled out the brand new blue cape. "Oh! Thank you, Salem. You're too nice to me."

I felt my smile falter. I cared about her but I kept doing things that I knew if she knew, would make her hate me. I made her forget Lyell and now I was getting ready to dangle him in her face every single day knowing that she wouldn't remember him and he wouldn't remember her. I just didn't want her to get hurt, but I also didn't want to completely betray my family. No matter how much I disagreed with them and hated them sometimes, they were the only family that I had. Besides, the backlash would be horrible and there was no surefire way to reverse Lyell's hypnotism.

"Eat up, my dear." Maisie patted my shoulder and I was more than happy to oblige. Maisie was a fantastic cook and I wished that I could eat more of her food every day. I was stuck eating academy food most of the time. Occasionally Cook would make something special for me that didn't taste like cardboard, but because she really hated everyone else, I usually got stuck with the bland food too.

Our pleasant breakfast was cut short when I heard someone stomping down the stairs. Grizelda Bone made her angry presence known immediately in the kitchen, yelling at Charlie for his hair not being brushed and yelling at Infinity for wearing too much makeup even though from what I could tell, she wasn't wearing any. "Good morning, Grizelda." I said calmly, waiting to see if she would yell at me for something too. She just stared at me.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"He wanted to deliver Infinity a new cape and take both the children to school." Amy explained for me.

"Why is it blue? You're supposed to be in the drama department! It's unheard of to switch departments." She continued to bark at Infinity, who just rolled her eyes and looked over at me.

"My father made the arrangements. If you think you can run the academy better than him, be my guest." I glared at her and her mouth immediately snapped shut. Charlie suppressed a giggle. "She's a Yewbeam, isn't she?" I continued. "That's why you forced Charlie into the music department too, isn't it? Do you really want to leave her in a department that someone attacked her in?"

"Of course she does. Come on, let's go. I've suddenly lost my appetite." Infinity stood to her feet and took her plate to the sink. After a quick hug from both her mother and Maisie, she practically sprinted out the door.

Grizelda made me angry with her constant berating and nagging, putting so much pressure on both of her grandchildren. It was obvious that she didn't love them at all and I could relate to that with my own grandfather. I did get carried away, but I knew she wouldn't stand up to me. The Bloors had overpowered the Yewbeams for years. Even when our bloodlines met, we didn't treat them as equals. We were the ones with power, we were the ones with money. They had nothing but an old crumbling castle to their name and eventually all of their money dried up. We had a reliable income from collecting tuition from students.

I helped Charlie and Infinity load their luggage into the car and we drove towards the academy. Much to my dismay, I got stuck behind a purple bus and we ended up showing up with the rest of the students. Charlie ran ahead of us to go talk to Olivia while Infinity and I shrugged on our capes and began to follow him.

Charlie had only been in the school for three seconds before he broke the number one rule. No talking in the great hallway. **Infinity, this is your first duty as a prefect.** She sighed, looked at the patch on her cape that signified her as a prefect and stepped forward. "Charlie-"

She was cut off by Manfred, who immediately dug his bony hands into Charlie's shoulder. "Since our new prefect and head boy have proven to be useless already, I have no choice but to intervene." He hissed, glaring back at us.

The confusion and fear in Infinity's eyes hurt me badly. I didn't know how to tell her he wasn't leaving. I could tell she wanted to flee, but her feet remained rooted to the floor. "Why are you here?" The words tumbled out of her mouth and caught Manfred by surprise.

"That's no way to speak to your superiors." He snapped at her. She flicked her hand quickly, signaling Charlie to escape and go back into the coat room.

"You're hardly our superior." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "He's a teaching assistant. This is his internship to take over the academy. He's taking classes online too." I put my hands on Infinity's shoulders and steered her past Manfred since her legs seemed to stop working and we disappeared into a sea of other blue capes. I heard him swear under his breath at us. As soon as Infinity's foot stepped over the threshold, she broke free from me and spun around.

"Why didn't you think to tell me that he wouldn't be leaving? The thought that Manfred would be long gone is the only reason I agreed to come back. You didn't think that I would want to know that the person who tried to kill me is still here?"

"Shh." I put my hand on her head and tried to quiet her down. "Nothing is going to happen to you. I moved you so you could stay close to me at all times. I'm going to protect you."

"I shouldn't need to be protected." She murmured under her breath before walking away from me. The guilt was back, and I suddenly didn't feel so confident anymore.


	13. A Snake in the Garden

Chapter 13: Snake in the Garden

My first day back to the academy was nothing short of bizarre. People stared at me, pointed and whispered "There's that girl who almost died." or "There's that girl that ran away with Salem Bloor". I felt even more alienated than before. Not only was I that weird endowed girl, but I was also that girl who almost died, then ran away from home with a boy. On top of that, I was informed that I had to take piano classes with Mr. Pilgrim. I always found him strange and he never talked. How was I supposed to get proper lessons from a man who didn't talk? I dreaded going to class as I walked up the stairs to the music tower by myself. Mr. Pilgrim didn't have many students. The only other person I knew of that took classes with him was Gabriel Silk. I actually bumped into him as I was going up and he was going down.

"What are you doing up here?" He asked me, surprised to see me not only in the music tower, but in a blue cape.

"Salem switched me to a new department because of the accident last year." I shrugged. "I guess I'm taking piano with Mr. Pilgrim now."

"Mr. Pilgrim is gone." Gabriel wrinkled his brow. "He has been replaced by a man named Mr. Ebony. He certainly is odd. He has two different colored eyes and speaks in many voices, but he is a very brilliant player."

This made me uneasy. _Salem, I need you to come to the music tower right now._ I begged Salem quietly in my brain. "I guess I'll have to see for myself." I chuckled nervously. "I'll see you around, Gabe."

"Okay." He smiled at me and continued to climb down the stairs. I stood rooted to the same spot and hoped that Salem would come soon. My wish was granted. He met me halfway up the stairs, panting and out of breath. I hadn't expected him to run the whole way there.

"What's…wrong?" He panted, sitting down on the stairs next to me.

"Gabriel Silk said that Mr. Pilgrim was replaced. He isn't here anymore."

"What?" A panicked look filled Salem's eyes. He stood up quickly and ran up the stairs the rest of the way. I could hear him throw the door open. Then there was silence. I picked up my pace and jogged the rest of the way up the stairs to see what was going on. Salem was staring at the man at the piano suspiciously and that man was glaring back.

Gabriel was right. He had one gray eye and one brown one. He wore a plain black cape instead of a department cape and he had disheveled black hair. His skin was deathly pale. As I stared at the man, he began to look more and more uncomfortable. There was something off about him, as if he were made from several different men, like Frankenstein's monster. "What are you children doing?" He asked, his voice loud and booming.

"How is it that the academy gets a teacher that I have never heard of?" Salem crossed his arms.

"Not everything has to be run by you before it happens, boy. You're only a child. And not the one who is supposed to be inheriting the academy." The man scoffed at Salem and turned to me. "Are you Infinity Jones, my new student?"

"My last name is Bone, not Jones." I corrected. I figured it was too late in my life to have my ridiculous first name changed even though I hated it. I wouldn't be able to break the habit and respond to a different name, but I did have my last name legally changed before returning to the academy.

"Bone? Any relation to the idiot boy who was in my office earlier looking for lines that he had lost? Charles?"

"That's my brother and he isn't an idiot." I defended Charlie, although if he was writing lines he was idiotic enough to get in trouble…again.

"Are you both finished wasting my time? Are you going to get a lesson or just stand there like an idiot as well?"

My lesson with Mr. Ebony was a strange one. His personality did a complete 180 when he played the piano. I was able to learn things much more quickly when I wasn't forced to teach myself. I had learned to play by ear, but Mr. Ebony teaching me to read sheet music helped me exponentially.

I went through the rest of the day without anything too strange happening. None of my other teachers were suddenly replaced and I was able to relax.

At dinner, I took my place at the head of the music table. Mondays would be my day to collect plates and serve for the music students. Charlie, Gabriel, Fidelio Gunn and Billy Raven took seats close to me. Salem sat all the way at the other end of the table. Mondays were his serving days too.

At the end of dinner, Dr. Bloor stood to his feet to make an announcement. His loud and angry voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "A word for those of the new children who are endowed. You know who you are, so I shall not mention you by name. You will do your homework in the King's room. Someone will show you the way. Do you understand?" Somewhere, not at the music table, I heard a few quiet voices answer.

"Won't mention by name?" I murmured, looking at Charlie. "I got loudly called out in the middle of the academy on my first day."

"Me too." He mouthed, rolling his eyes.

After dinner was cleaned up, Salem and I met up to walk to the King's room together. "Do you know anything about the new students?" I asked him. "I didn't even think about the fact that the new year would bring more people."

"The one is a boy named Joshua Tilpin. He just showed up on our doorstep apparently, his tuition is being paid through a private bank. His endowment is magnetism. Stuff just sticks to him." He picked up his pace a little when we realized we were going to be late. "The other two are twins. They're Zelda's cousins. There telekinetic too. I don't remember their names at this moment."

The mention of Zelda's name made me sad. She and I called each other and kept in touch online frequently, but with me being in the academy I wouldn't be able to talk to her until the end of the week. As we approached the door, I could hear Manfred yelling already. "Where is that idiot brother of mine? And Bone, where is your sister?"

"We're right here." Salem called back, taking a seat on his own, away from everyone else. I sat down between him and Emma Tolly. "I don't understand why you're always yelling." When I looked up, I saw two pairs of glassy blue eyes staring at me. The girls looking at me were Zelda's cousins and they looked like little porcelain dolls, probably no older than Charlie. And next to them was an unfortunate looking boy who was covered with bits of dirt, lint and paper. He caught me looking at him and smiled broadly. Something tugged and me, forcing me to smile back. He looked to be about ten or eleven years old.

"You have very pretty hair." He said to me, catching me off guard.

This made me smile even more. Ever since discovering my endowment, my hair, nails, and eyelashes all had grown to be extremely healthy and had gotten longer. My hair finally had a shine to it and I was able to grow it back with no trouble at all. It even gained some volume and turned a nicer blonde. Good magic made people more beautiful, where as bad magic drained beauty.

"Wipe that stupid smile off of your face, Bone. I have an announcement to make." He snapped at me. I rolled my eyes and wondered what overly important, egotistical thing that Manfred had to tell us all. "I know none of you expected to see me here again. Well too bad, you're all stuck with me." His eyes met with Charlie's when he spoke. I wondered what terrible things he had in store for my little brother this year. "I am a teaching assistant. My job is to supervise your homework, monitor progress, supervise for exams and help with any other personal issues you all may have."

At this, Salem snorted and held back a laugh. "Who the hell would want to come to you for that? Hey, Manny. I asked Infinity to prom and she turned me down. What do I doooooo?" He wailed, teasing his brother.

At this, both Asa Pike and I both started to laugh. "DETENTION, BOTH OF YOU!" He roared at us. We both quieted down and lowered our heads. When I peeked back up again, I noticed Asa was smirking at me. "Anyway, introductions." He nodded towards the twins first. "These girls are Idith and Inez Branko."

Suddenly, two sets of book rocketed across the room and hit both Charlie and Tancred Torsson. "Telekinesis?" Tancred complained as he sent a phantom wind through the air.

"I see that summer has done nothing for your self-control." Manfred crossed his arms and waited for both boys to take the books back over to the twins. "Try and be pleasant to these ladies. They are Zelda Dobinski's cousins. And if you haven't noticed, Zelda has graduated and moved on to university, Unlike Asa Pike and Infinity Bone." I knew Manfred was challenging me to say something to him, but I bit my tongue. "Asa failed all of his exams and Infinity went on medical leave last semester and was unable to finish."

"What happened?" The magnet boy asked.

"There was an accident and Miss Bone was left comatose for several months." Manfred looked at me, as if he was challenging me or anyone else in the room to correct him. At that moment, I saw him wince as if he was in pain. I glanced over at Salem, who seemed to be focusing on something. Whatever was happening, it forced Manfred down into his seat. He was staring daggers and Salem, but wasn't able to speak through his gritted teeth.

"Don't push your luck, Manny." Salem whispered under his breath before opening a text book.


	14. Snowfall

Chapter 14: Snowfall

For the first quarter of school, I did as Salem did. I sat and watched. I didn't get involved in either side. I let Charlie handle things that needed to be taken care of and I stayed quiet. I didn't speak unless spoken to and stayed under the Bloor's radar. I felt bad that I wasn't there to help Billy Raven get away from the de Grey family or talk Olivia through her newfound endowment but things worked out without my interference. I needed time to catch up and recover, so Charlie didn't mind leaving me out of everything. He also didn't need me after discovering that he, too, was a magician. He had stolen a wand from a sorcerer in a painting whenever I had been comatose. Manfred had tried to destroy it, but it just changed its shape and now I had the comfort of knowing that Claerwen the moth was always nearby to protect him.

Now, Billy was asleep on the top bunk of the new bunk beds in our bedroom and things were peaceful. Charlie had just celebrated his birthday, the only thing missing was my father. _I can't just sit by and watch things happen anymore, Salem._ I thought as I watched the snow fall through the bedroom window. _I want to help Charlie and his friends. I want to find my father._

**I think it's time for you to help out again too. I think you've gotten stronger.** His voice filled my thoughts and I couldn't help but to smile. I closed my eyes and was ready to drift off to sleep when the sound of meowing woke me up. I sat up in bed and looked around. The meowing was definitely coming from in front of the house.

"Do you hear it too?" Charlie asked me. His voice made me jump. I thought he was asleep. The two of us got out of bed and went over to the window. When we looked down, the Flame cats were looking back up at us. "Go down and let them in. I'll wake up Billy."

I pulled on my robe and quickly descended the stairs to let the Flames in. When I opened the door, I got a good look at the snow. Something was off about it. It didn't seem natural at all. I stepped outside and looked around. _Something evil was happening and I could feel it. I can feel dark magic. Is something happening?_

**Yes, but I can't stop it. Something is blocking me.**

I didn't know what he meant by something "blocking" him. I decided that I had stood in the cold long enough and went back into the house where Charlie and Billy had laid out leftover turkey and warm milk. I could hear Billy communicating with the Flames and Charlie was looking very distressed. Just when I was about to ask him what was wrong, Uncle Paton appeared at the top of the stairs so I dove for the light switch and Charlie lit a few candles.

"What's going on down here?" Uncle Paton asked as he dug in the fridge for something to eat.

"The Flames came to warn me." Charlie answered as I was about to pass Uncle Paton a plate. "About mom."

I froze and almost dropped the plate, but Uncle Paton caught it. "Excuse me?" He said. "Did you say your mother?" Uncle Paton frowned. They continued to speak but my brain went empty. All I could think about was my mother. Would she end up like my father? Would I end up losing my parents again? I stared out the window above the kitchen sink. Was this going to be Bloor related? Why would they want anything to do with my mother? She was unendowed, she kept her head low and didn't interfere with anything. The only time she ever stood up to the Bloor family is when Salem and I ran away.

We have nothing to do with this. I swear. Salem's calm voice filled my head. This is something beyond my grandfather's power. Their minds are clear. They don't even know what's going on. I can't do anything if I don't know where it's coming from.

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Salem." I murmured out loud.

"What is the meaning of this?" Grandma Bone's loud voice shouted, startling all of us. I turned around and found her standing in the doorway looking as unpleasant as ever.

"Hi, Grandma." Charlie said cheerfully. I looked around, expecting her to yell about the Flames being in the house because of how much she hated animals, but they were gone.

"Don't be insolent." She barked. "Why aren't any of you in bed?"

"We were hungry." I said as I reached over Uncle Paton's shoulder and picked up a piece of cheese from the platter her had brought out. "I don't see why you're yelling. It's not a school night."

"Hold your tongue, you little brat." She growled at me. She looked back at Charlie. "I heard cats."

"They were outside, Grandma." He said quickly.

She padded over to the window and looked outside suspiciously but the Flames must have been long gone. "What is up with this snow? It isn't normal." She said. She had noticed it too. Something was definitely off about this snow. I wasn't being crazy.

"It's cold, white and wet. I don't know what else you could want." Uncle Paton said sarcastically.

This caused Grandma Bone to spin around quickly. She hadn't noticed that Paton was there. "You!" She hissed. "Why didn't you send these children back to bed?"

"I'm not a child." I mumbled, but I was drowned out by Uncle Paton trying to defend us. I didn't care to pay attention to the conversation anymore. Grandma Bone may have had Charlie fearful, but I wasn't afraid of her. She wasn't my mother and I wouldn't allow her to try and control me like she did everyone else.

When she left, Charlie and Billy eventually went upstairs but I decided to sit at the table with Uncle Paton and pick at the cheese platter too. "You weren't listening to our conversation about the shadow, were you?" Uncle Paton asked me.

"What shadow?" I looked up from the piece of cheese I was slowly breaking apart.

Uncle Paton chuckled. "You're always lost in your head, just like your father." He smiled fondly. "Billy said that the Flames warned him of a shadow. A shadow named Hark. They didn't elaborate but do you have any idea what that means?"

"I have no idea. Salem doesn't know what's going on either. He said something is blocking his powers. He's having a hard time reading the thoughts of whatever evil is happening and he doesn't know where it's coming from." I frowned. "If this thing is powerful enough to keep its thoughts hidden from Salem, then what is it powerful enough to do to mom? I'm scared, Uncle Paton." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. "I'm just now seeing what it's like to have a real and loving family. I don't want anything to happen."

"Don't cry, dear girl." Uncle Paton put his hand over mine. I could see the concern and love in his brown eyes. "Have faith in Charlie and all of your friends. They are powerful and they're all like family to you as well. They won't let anything happen. And especially have faith in yourself. You're more powerful than you realize."

Uncle Paton's words were comforting. He managed to put me at just enough ease that I was able to go to bed for the night. I thanked him, cleaned up the kitchen and went right up to bed.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of someone screaming. I immediately thought the worst. What if something happened to mom? I reached beside my bed and grabbed my softball bat. I had decided to keep it there just in case the Bloors ever tried to come back for me again. When I looked around I noticed Benjamin Brown was back from Hong Kong after a 7 month expedition and standing in the middle of our bedroom, Charlie was sitting straight up in bed with a pale and frightened face, and Billy had sat up too fast and smacked his head off of the ceiling.

"Jesus Christ, why are you all screaming?" A familiar voice asked. I looked behind Ben and found Salem standing in the doorway looking annoyed.

"I just got bit by a moth!" Ben looked up on top of the dresser where Claerwen had perched herself.

"Oh." Salem rolled his eyes. "They're okay, Maisie. Benjamin just tried to kill Claerwen." He called down the stairs. No doubt that Maisie was standing at the bottom, wondering why everyone was making such a ruckus so early in the morning.

"Claerwen?" Ben gave us all a strange look. Charlie began to explain the events that had transpired since Benjamin had been gone and I put down my bat.

"Cute pajamas." Salem snorted at me. I looked down at my Hello Kitty thermal pants and blushed. I stomped passed him and went into the bathroom down the hall. When I caught a glimpse of myself when I sat down on the toilet to pee, I felt even more embarrassed. My hair was a mess. I had fallen asleep with it up in a bun of some sort and now everything looked like a giant knot on the top of my head. I had dried drool on the side of my face.

I finished using the toilet and found myself trying to find the fastest way to make myself look more presentable for Salem. I cleaned my face, brushed my teeth and managed to get a brush through my hair even if it did make my eyes sting with tears. When I came back out, everyone was already downstairs at the breakfast table. Everyone gobbled down food but Ben. I figured he was missing his dog. He had left Runner Bean with Charlie seven months ago when he had gone to Hong Kong. Because of Grandma and the fact that he had to spend all of his weeks at Bloor's like the rest of us, Charlie left Runner Bean with Mr. Onimous at the Pet's Café.

"Oh, you're not mad at me for showing up and surprising you, are you?" Salem asked me as I shoved a piece of toast in my mouth. One of the things I liked about Salem is that when he was here with me, he always asked me how I was feeling rather than intruding into my thoughts on his own.

I chewed and swallowed. "Not at all. I'm surprised, but I'm mostly just hungry."

"You can't get between Infinity and food." Billy said thoughtfully.

"After we're done eating, we're all going to Pet's Café to go get Ben's dog. Do you two want to come with us?" Charlie asked Salem and I.

I looked at Salem, waiting for him to answer for us. He nodded and continued to eat. "I never get tired of your cooking, Maisie. Thank you for always feeding me." He said as he took everyone's plates to the sink and washed them quickly before Maisie could stop him.

"You're always welcome in my house, young man." Maisie said kindly. "Though I am upset that you didn't come see us at all over break."

"I wanted to, but I spent the break in France with my mother's sister." He explained. I hadn't known. He never told me. "I actually brought you all back gifts." He reached down and produced a backpack from under the table. "Maisie, I brought you and Mrs. Bone back a few bottles of wine. Charlie and Billy, I brought you chocolate. Paton's gift, I'll give him later. I didn't get it from France. And for Infinity," He paused and pulled out a large, black Givenchy bag. I almost couldn't breathe. I knew that those handbags were incredibly expensive. There was no way that I could accept such a gift.

"Salem, you didn't." I caught my breath but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the bag. I had been browsing a magazine and the bag had caught my eye one day when Salem and I were in the prefect's lounge. I had a present for Salem too, but it wasn't a Givenchy bag.

"Look in the bag." He smiled even wider.

I silently unzipped the bag and found a familiar blue Tiffany box. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. Why was he doing all of this? I didn't need expensive things. I was happy with what I had. I pulled out the box and opened it, revealing a beautiful pearl bracelet. "What are you doing?" I asked, unable to look at him.

"It's an infinity clasp. It's perfect for you." He took it out of the box and put it around my wrist gently. "You never want or ask for anything. You deserve to be spoiled once and awhile, especially after what you have been through because of my family in this past year." He gently held my hands and looked into my eyes. "In two weeks, it will be a year since we met, you know."

"I got you a present too." I said shyly. I then noticed that Charlie had already gone upstairs to go get it. "I didn't do it alone. I had a lot of help from Fidelio's older brother Felix whenever he worked at the academy last semester." I stood up and took the vintage leather guitar case from Charlie and handed it to Salem who had not been expecting a present. It was a black Gibson Acoustic L5. "Felix helped me restore it. I mean, it's not a Tiffany bracelet or a Givenchy bag… We just found it at a flea market. It needed a lot of TLC but Felix insisted it was a great idea."

"This is actually really expensive guitar. It's a shame that anyone let it get in such bad condition to begin with. Whoever sold it to you didn't know what they had." Salem looked up at me with a grin that almost split his face in two. "I really like the case, too." He put his free arm around my shoulder and pulled me close into a hug. He pressed his lips against my temple and I felt my face turn bright red, but I didn't object. "Now, I know Benjamin doesn't care about our Christmas Present Exchange so why don't you go get dressed so we can go get his dog?"

"THANK YOU!" Ben cried out, grateful to Salem. The only thing that boy seemed to care about in this moment was his dog.

"Alright. I'll keep this up in my room until we get back so it doesn't get ruined in the car because it's cold. A walk in the cold air will do us all some good." I took Salem's guitar and my bag and headed upstairs, a smile still on my face while I admired the bracelet around my wrist.


	15. Animals

Chapter 15: Animals

It didn't take Charlie, Billy and I long to get dressed to go out on a walk in the chilly January air. Although there had been a strange snowfall the night before, it seemed the snow disappeared before sunrise. I pulled my hat over my ears to keep them from being hit by the cold. Salem and I meandered behind Charlie, Billy and Benjamin. Something still wasn't right to me, but no one else seemed to notice. It was too quiet. I didn't hear a single bird or barking dog. I began to feel even more anxious and ill at ease.

"Is something wrong?" Salem asked me when he noticed that I didn't join in the conversation everyone else was having. Charlie and Billy were explaining to Salem what the Flame cats had said the night before.

"No." I lied. Salem knew I was lying, but I think he also knew I didn't know how to explain why I was so uncomfortable. He just threaded his gloved fingers through mine and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. It confused me. Weren't boys only supposed to act this way towards their girlfriends? No one had ever held my hand or kissed my forehead or bought me gifts. My face was burning and red and I began to feel even more anxious. My heart was ready to beat out of my chest. Did Salem want me to be his girlfriend? Why was he acting this way?

"Yes." He said out loud. It had been sudden. Charlie, Billy and Benjamin looked back at us. "Of course I want you to be my girlfriend. I swear you are simultaneously the most intuitive and oblivious person I have met in my entire life. Charlie, don't you think that I was pretty obvious in expressing interest in your sister?" He held up our intertwined hands and stopped walking.

"You're a natural flirt!" I said in my defense as I tried to yank my hand away. It was no use, Salem was much stronger than me. "You talk to everyone and you're nice to everyone." I lowered my voice. "And aren't we related?"

"Like, incredibly distantly. Fourth cousins. Genetically and morally safe." He tugged at my hand and we started walking again but then I pulled us back to a stop. "You guys go on ahead." Salem said to the group. They all shrugged and kept going. Salem and I stood in the middle of cathedral square hand and hand, staring at each other. "Aren't you going to give me an answer? I don't want to go into your head for this. You're freaking me out."

I stared up into his stormy ocean blue eyes and studied his face. He seemed so nervous, which was very unlike him. Salem was always so sure of himself and radiated with self-confidence. I loved looking at Salem's face. I thought he was incredibly handsome and his smile often made my heart skip a beat. I liked his personality and I was always happy when I was with him. Is that what made someone boyfriend material? I knew what it felt like to have a crush but I had never been this close to having a real life boyfriend. I figured that I liked Salem and he would make a good boyfriend and said a simple "Okay."

"Okay." He repeated me. I thought his smile would split his face in two. He let go of my hand, threw his arms around me and lifted me into the air. I let out a surprised yell and he sat me back down on the ground. "I'm sorry. You've just made me really happy. Can I kiss you?" He asked.

"N-no!" I stammered, looking down at my feet. I felt my face turn red hot again. "Not yet. I'm not ready."

"I guess I shouldn't push my luck." He wasn't daunted by my answer and although I wasn't looking at him, I could tell that his smile never faltered. "Let's go. We should be able to catch up to everyone else." He grabbed my hand and we quickened our pace to catch up to Charlie, Billy and Ben. When we made it to the café, Charlie and his friends weren't anywhere in sight. We pushed open the front door and we were immediately met by the sound of a very distressed Ben having a panic attack in the kitchen.

We ran to the back where I found Billy holding his rat, who had fallen asleep in his hand and Charlie was working with Mr. Onimous to calm down a hyperventilating Ben. "What's going on?" I asked.

Mr. Onimous looked up at me, and then at Salem. "Good morning, Infinity. Who do you have with you?"

"Oh. This is Salem. My, uh, boyfriend." I murmured awkwardly. I had forgotten that Mr. Onimous had never met Salem before.

"It's nice to meet you, Salem. I'm Orvil Onimous." The fuzzy little man raised his hand to Salem for him to shake and he was more than happy to oblige. Salem loved meeting new people. "I'm assuming that because they brought you here, that we can trust you?"

Charlie and I were about to vouch for his character but we were interrupted by a chorus of meows. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius paraded into the room in a straight line and stood around Salem, meowing happily. "Oh. They're thanking you." Billy smiled. "Salem was the one that let the cats into the academy the day Manfred's room caught on fire last year."

Salem's face turned bright red and he looked away from us all. "I thought you didn't take sides?" Charlie asked.

"I wanted to help Emma Tolly." He admitted. "But why is Benjamin freaking out? That's what I care about right now."

"All of the animals in the city disappeared." Billy explained as he stuffed Rembrandt the rat into his coat pocket where he could sleep in the darkness. "Runner Bean and all the others are gone. They all disappeared last night during the snow storm."

"That's obviously not true." Salem wrinkled his brow. "Rembrandt is right there. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are right there, and I tripped over Percy on the way to breakfast this morning."

I thought about what I had noticed on the walk to the café. I didn't hear a single dog bark or a bird chirp. There was a gloomy and depressing aura all around the city. "Rembrandt came back for me. He wanted me to know what happened. They all went off to the wilderness across the bridge. The Flame Cats are special, that's why they're still here. Whatever evil thing scared all of the other pets off didn't scare the Flames. I don't know why Blessed didn't leave, though."

"Too old and fat, probably." Salem shrugged and looked over at Benjamin, who had a sour look on his face. "You're not blaming Charlie for this, are you? Because the same exact thing would have happened had Runner Bean been in your care."

"Salem!" I was taken aback by Salem's sudden burst of annoyance. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the dining area away from everyone else. "I know you're sticking up for Charlie and Ben probably has some pretty nasty thoughts of him in his head right now, but he's a twelve year old boy who has lost his dog." I reminded him. Salem said nothing, but I saw him roll his eyes at me. I poked my head back in the kitchen. "Salem and I are going to go. I'll catch up with you all later." I said quickly. I stormed back out, grabbed Salem by his coat and pulled him out with me. "What is your problem?"

Salem didn't say anything. He just stuck his hands in his pockets and began to walk ahead of me. I let out a frustrated groan and walked in the other direction. I didn't want to deal with Salem's sudden moodiness. I was walking the opposite way away from home but I didn't care. I understood that Benjamin could be a pain in the ass and whined constantly, but I knew he didn't have an easy life. His parents were gone a lot and Runner Bean was the only company he had when Charlie was away at school. If Salem was going to get mad at a twelve year old boy for being upset about his dog missing after being gone for several months, then he needed to re-evaluate himself.

I turned down a street I had never been down before and picked up my pace. My anger was festering inside me until I suddenly couldn't feel anything anymore. I felt strangely empty and powerless. Something was urging me to look up from my feet, so I did. A man was standing directly in front of me in a green and gold cloak. His eyes were locked directly with mine. He raised his hand up to touch me and I shrunk back. "Hey!" I heard Salem's voice in the distance and the man lowered his hand.

"White Witch." He said in a gruff voice. He turned and walked off. He had completely disappeared before Salem reached my side. The encounter left me shaken. I wondered what would have happened to me if Salem wouldn't have come back when he did. Something about that man wasn't right. I could almost feel the evil coming from him. I knew he didn't belong here. I could sense that he was what the Flames wanted us to protect my mother from. I knew that he was the reason the animals were gone. I couldn't vocalize any of that to Salem though. I couldn't say anything. I hoped that he was listening to the inside of my head.

"I think you're right." He said quietly. "Infinity, I couldn't read his mind. Whoever he is, he is much more powerful than I am. He is much more dangerous, too." He wrapped his arms tightly around me as my body began to tremble. I was feeling so much fear.


	16. The Beginning of Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Sexual Assault

Chapter 16: Beginning of Change

Our first week back to the academy after break was a depressing one. All morning everyone sulked and whined about their missing animals. I felt bad for the children who lost their companions. I wondered how many other children were like Benjamin and didn't have anyone else. I was never allowed to have pets as a child. My "mother" hated them, but I'm sure I would have been a lot less lonely if I would have been allowed to have one.

"Are you an empath as part of your endowment or is selflessness just a part of your personality?" Salem came up from behind me as I rummaged through my locker to find the things I would need for the first few classes of the day. I jumped at the suddenness of his presence.

"I don't know." I said, smiling at him. I noticed that his hair was a mess, his shirt was untucked, his cape was wrinkled and his tie wasn't tied correctly. "Do you even own a mirror?" I asked him as I sat my books back down and began to fix his tie. Charlie didn't know how to tie one, so I had to learn because he didn't want to. "You're just as bad as my brother." I sighed. I reached up and combed my fingers through his hair trying to maintain some kind of order and he tucked in his shirt. "You usually do a better job at taking care of yourself. Is something wrong?"

Salem shrugged. He had been acting strange since we had run into that creepy man with the cloak. "I'm fine." He picked up his guitar case and walked away from me briskly.

"Okay, weirdo." I sighed under my breath and picked all of my books back up. In all of my classes, I just heard students talking about their pets. I felt bad when I had to give a couple of students detention for talking in the Great Hall about their problems, but I didn't want Asa to have a reason to yell at me for giving out less detentions than all of the other prefects.

Before my piano lesson with Mr. Pilgrim, who had finally returned, I walked into the prefect's room to turn in my detention slips when I had the misfortune of running into Asa. He was leaning against the wall, flipping through a book. I knew he wasn't reading it, but he was trying to put up some kind of show for me. I decided to play along. "Oh, Infinity. I didn't see you there." He sat the book down on his desk and took a few steps towards me. When his yellow eyes locked into mine, I didn't find the same ferociousness that I usually did. He seemed so unsure of himself and looked uncomfortable in his own skin. The animal exodus probably affected him too. He was part animal after all. "I actually wanted to ask you for a favor…"

"Why would I help you with anything, Asa Pike?" I handed him my paperwork for the detentions I had given out. I thought he was reaching out to grab them, but he grabbed my wrist instead and pulled me close.

"A lot about me changed while you were in that coma. You wouldn't talk to me last semester so I couldn't show you." He reached out and grabbed my other wrist, holding me firmly in place. The shy look receded and the wolfish glare came back. I was too scared to move. "I figured out who I really am."

Before I could move, he pulled me even closer and planted his lips on mine. I was incredibly shocked. My first kiss was stolen by someone whom I disliked. A burst of rage ran through me and I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks. I yanked myself away and reared my fist back. When my fist connected with his eye with a satisfying smack, I heard a burst of laughter from the doorway.

I turned to see Manfred standing in the doorway, blocking my only exit. My heart began to beat faster. Last time I had been left alone with the two of them, I had ended up in the hospital in a coma. "She hits hard, doesn't she?" Manfred shook his head and stepped to the side. He was going to let me pass. Manfred was actually doing be a favor. I averted my eyes from his and stormed out the door. "You really made her angry." I heard him say. I pulled my cape tightly around me and walked to my music lesson. I figured I could just sit in peace during my music lesson with Mr. Pilgrim. He didn't seem to care if I played or not.

When I opened up the door, Mr. Pilgrim was sitting in silence. Much to my surprise, he acknowledged me and spoke. "You're crying." He said calmly. I hadn't noticed that my eyes were stinging with tears and my cheeks were damp.

"I'm fine." I sat down next to him and wiped my face with my cape. I wondered if the incident from last year had given me some type of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Are you hurt?" This was the most he had ever talked to me. I was annoyed that he chose today to actually care about me as a student. I was hoping for just a regular silent lesson.

"I'll get over it." I looked him in the eye. Something in his gaze had changed.

"Please don't cry, Amy." He frowned.

"Amy? Mr. Pilgrim, I'm Infinity. Amy is the girl who has class after me." I rolled my eyes and looked back down at my hands. At least he was making some kind of effort to remember his student's names this semester. He only had five.

"Oh." He went back to being the regular closed off, space cadet he usually was. I even got to leave my lesson early because I was pretty sure that he fell asleep with his eyes open. As I was heading down the stairs, I ran into the familiar mop of curly brown hair.

"How is Mr. Pilgrim today?" Amy Peterson asked me. She asked me the same question every day when we passed each other.

"Eh. He's fading in and out. He called me Amy today."

We shared a laugh but I was still upset over what had happened with Asa. I wanted to see Salem and talk to him, but I wouldn't have that chance until after dinner. We both had serving duty today and would be on opposite ends of the table. This also wasn't something that I wanted to tell him with telepathy so I tried to keep my brain busy with mundane and unimportant things.

I didn't get to see him after dinner either. I dreaded going to the king's room and seeing Asa, so I found myself reaching my arm out to grab Lysander when he passed. He looked down at me with surprised and wide eyes. "Are you okay, Infinity? You look like you're going to cry." I shook my head and I awkwardly explained my problem while we stood in the middle of the hallway. "He really is an animal." Lysander said angrily when I was done. "Of course I'll go to the King's room with you. Any time you don't feel safe and you can't find Salem, come tell me or Tancred. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm surprised Manfred didn't take advantage of the situation and make it worse for you though. I think he lives off of fear. And I know it must be hard dealing with him after the close call you had last year."

Lysander and I walked into the king's room together where Manfred, Asa, Dorcas, the Branko Twins and Joshua already sat at their spot at the table. I sat down next to Lysander and refused to look up until I heard Salem roar with laughter. "Jesus, Asa. What the hell happened to your eye? You piss off the rugby team?"

"Language. You are in school and you're supposed to be the head boy." Manfred said stiffly. I looked up to peek at Asa and before I could stop myself, a surprised escaped my mouth. His eye was completely swollen shut. I would like to bet that I broke almost every single blood vessel in that area.

"I wanna know who punched Asa so I know to stay away from that guy." Tancred joked as he began to take his seat on the other side of Lysander.

Lysander shifted uncomfortably and Manfred tried to suppress a grin. Although he had been on the other side of my fist at one point in his life, Manfred was getting enjoyment out of knowing that someone else had been injured at the hands of a girl.

Other students began to flood into the room, all whispering about Asa's eye when they noticed it. "What happened?" Salem continued to ask. "I really think as the head boy I should know what happened."

"Talk about it on your own time." Manfred warned.

"I think you should listen to Manfred." I murmured quietly. Salem looked at me and then looked down at my hand. I hadn't noticed that it was bruised and an angry red color. I had been too disturbed.

Salem was able to put two and two together and figured out that I was the one who had hit Asa. "It was Infinity that hit you."

"Whaaaat?" Tancred choked back a laugh and looked over at me. "Who taught you how to fight? There is no way that a girl your size could punch someone that hard."

"Torsson." Manfred growled in a warning tone. He was losing control of the situation fast. He stood up and tried to intimidate everyone, but this was too exciting for everyone to ignore. I was starting to get embarrassed. I wanted to run and hide. Manfred's hand came down on my shoulder. "You can leave if you want to." He said in a low voice.

When I stood up, Salem gave me a look that forced me back into my chair. He was angry and annoyed. "No one is going anywhere. Tell me what you did that made Infinity hit you, because she wouldn't have done it if she wasn't in danger."

Asa didn't answer. Instead he looked up at him silently with a smug smile on his face. He must have been thinking about what happened, because for the first time in the year I had known him, I saw Salem get legitimately enraged and jealous. I looked down at Salem's hands which had formed themselves into fists clenched so tight that his knuckles began to turn white. I knew Salem wanted to punch him as well. "Salem." Manfred raised his voice again. Although they had their differences and disliked each other occasionally, Manfred was always a little nicer to Salem than he was to anyone else. I knew he cared about his mother and his brother in a backhanded way even if they stood against everything he did (and rightfully so). Just like Salem cared about his father and Manfred even though they did things he didn't approve of. "You can handle it, but you need to handle it on your own time. You have a reputation to uphold."

"Oh, I'll handle it." Salem reached forward and snatched Asa up by his shirt.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Asa pulled out of Salem's grasp.

"If you're not afraid of Salem, then you should be afraid of me." Manfred's ominous tone surprised everyone, especially me. "You're disposable, Asa. Especially if you become a problem." Both Salem and Asa backed away from each other, clearly just as surprised as everyone else. "I think it would be best if you took Infinity to the headmaster to file a formal complaint against Asa for his actions so he can be punished accordingly."

"What?" Asa looked back at Manfred again, still shocked. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. You two are dismissed." Manfred waved a hand at us to shoo us out. I went to object but Salem grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I grabbed my bag just as he did so and followed him to the west wing where Dr. Bloor's study was.

"Manfred used Asa to help him try to kill me. Twice. Why does he care about this?" I asked as he pulled me along by my wrist.

"Because he's drawing unwanted attention to the endowed. You left a physical mark on Asa that can't just be explained away. People will talk. Asa also did what he did for himself, not to the benefit of Manfred."

"How was Manfred's black eye and Asa's broken foot excused after I tried to fight them off?"

"They told people they fought each other." He let go of my arm and stopped walking so he could turn and look at me. "I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

"No, you're not." I stopped walking as well. "I hit him and that was enough physical punishment. Let Dr. Bloor handle the rest."

"Do you think I'm just going to let him get away with disrespecting my girlfriend? He violated you, Fin. That's sexual harassment!"

"Sexual harassment?" I scoffed. "Hardly. He kissed me without my permission. It's not like he groped me."

"It's sexual harassment. Public displays of affection are grounds for detention. Sexual harassment is grounds for expulsion." Salem turned away from me and I had no choice but to follow him in uncomfortable silence.

When we approached the study, Salem didn't knock. He threw the door open and caught Dr. Bloor by surprise. "Jesus Christ, son. You know better than to not knock." He slammed down the file he had been writing in and noticed that I was silently trailing behind. "What trouble have you caused today, Infinity Bone?" He became even more annoyed because I was there. "You and your brother are nothing but one issue after the next."

"I want Asa Pike expelled. Now." He grabbed a blank complaint form from a pile on Dr. Bloor's desk and began to write so hard on it that he broke two pencils. "Is there a god damn pen anywhere?" He yelled. Dr. Bloor awkwardly handed him one and Salem continued writing furiously.

"Sexual harassment?" He turned his head slightly to see what his son was writing. "That's certainly a bold accusation and grounds for expulsion. But an endowed child will never be expelled by the academy. What happened?"

I was too embarrassed to answer him. I felt a blush creep up to my cheeks. "You need to tell him yourself, Fin." Salem gave me a stern look before continuing his report.

"Well, uh…" I kicked my toe into the floor a few times and played with my hands. "I went to the Prefect's lounge to turn in a few detention reports and Asa was there and he struck up a conversation with me. I just wanted to give him my reports and leave, but when I went to hand them over, he grabbed my wrists so I couldn't get away and he kissed me. I was angry and panicked so I pulled away and punched him in the face."

"Hmm." Dr. Bloor took the completed form from Salem. "Did anyone see it happen?"

"Manfred did. He was the one who told me to speak with you." I murmured as he read it over. "He said that Asa needed to be punished."

"Then it will be handled. I can't expel Asa or give him detention, but I can put him in isolated suspension for a few days." He filled out a few things on the form. "Given the severity of the situation, I'll have to notify your mother. Asa will also lose his place as head prefect. This is entirely inconvenient." He let out an annoyed sigh. "I noticed that he had an injury. I figured it was related to his endowment. I wouldn't have guessed that came from you."

"Why don't you let Infinity be head prefect? She's strict but fair. She doesn't let anyone get away with anything." Salem suggested.

I shook my head but to my surprise, Dr. Bloor hesitantly agreed. "I'll alert the staff. You will use one of your free periods to go over detention reports and do more rounds. Now, please leave me be. Thanks to Asa, I have even more paperwork to do."

With that, Salem and I left the room. We didn't know where to go. We didn't have to go back to the king's room but mostly everything was closed off at the end of the day. "You won't be mad if I say I just want to go to my room and do homework before going to bed, will you? I've had a long day and I just kind of want to be alone."

"Why would I be mad? I understand." He gave me a shy smile. "I guess I'll go do the same." He pulled me into a loose hug with one arm and kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight, Infinity."

"Goodnight, Salem." I forced a smile and walked back to my dorm alone. I used my time alone to catch up on homework like I said I would, shower without fighting the other girls for a stall and unpack my things for the week. When the other girls arrived to their dorms, I could still hear them complaining about their missing animals. Dorcas Loom was the loudest of all.

"Forget the missing animals for a minute." Two of my roommates walked in, full of gossip as always. "Did you see Asa Pike's eye? Hey, Bone! You're endowed. What do you know about the fight Asa got in?"

"Nothing." I murmured.

"You're a liar! Tell us!"

Their curiosity was then turned towards something else. A chorus of screams came from the hallway. My other roommates crowded the door, curious of what was going on. When they screamed as well, I decided to get up and look. I pushed them out of my way and peeked into the hallway. What I saw almost made me scream as well, but the sound wouldn't come out. I was making eye contact with a six foot long alligator with incredibly sharp teeth. I heard a loud "OH MY GOD!" From the stairwell and turned to see Charlie, Fidelio and Gabriel who had come to investigate as well.

The sudden loud noise made the great beast swing it's head and charge in their direction. I ran out into the hallway and threw my hand out. "STOP!" I yelled. My fingertips tingled began to glow with a dull light. A force-field formed around the creature.

"Charlie Bone, what have you done now?" Aunt Lucretia's voice was sharp and made my blood freeze. It also caused the alligator to disappear. She threw a bony hand onto my shoulder. "You, go to bed. NOW."

"You can't possibly blame Charlie for this." I shrank away from her touch and returned her glare.

"It _was_ Charlie!" I heard Dorcas Loom yell from her doorway. "Infinity was doing something too!"

"Next time, I'll let the alligator get a full meal and eat you instead." I hissed back at her. She gave me a nasty look and I clenched my fists. That was enough to make her turn pale and slam her door to put a barrier between the two of us. I snorted. I wouldn't hit Dorcas, but she didn't need to know that.

"Dorcas is lying!" Olivia Vertigo came out of her room. Of course it was her who caused the illusion. But why? We were trying our hardest to keep her a secret. Matron Yewbeam didn't care. Charlie was still sent to the headmaster (who would be annoyed even more) and Olivia was yelled at until the lights went out.


	17. Frozen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Minor violence and blood

Chapter 17: Frozen

With Asa in isolated suspension, I was able to enjoy the rest of the week. I even got moved to a new room because of my position as head prefect. Head boy/girl and head prefect were generally given their own private rooms as a reward for their grades. Because the last two head boys had been Manfred and Salem, they already had special rooms since they lived in the academy full time.

The head prefect girl's room was definitely unused for a long time but the cleaning staff made it sparkle by the time it was done. The bed had a thicker mattress, I had a private bathroom and I didn't have to worry about my sleep being disrupted by the noises of other girls. I was elated. I was in such a good mood that I didn't even argue when Dr. Bloor asked me to stay behind until Friday evening to catch up on all of the paperwork Asa had let fall behind. There was actually so much that was left undone that Salem and Manfred even offered to help me catch up.

"Has there ever been a time when you put Asa in charge of something that it didn't come back to bite you in the ass?" Salem asked as we all sat in the Prefect's lounge. "School has been in session since September and it is January now. How did no one notice that none of this paperwork was done? All detentions are supposed to be documented, along with other school reports."

"Actually, Salem. That's your job to make sure that the head prefect is doing what they are supposed to be doing." I noted.

"Really?" Salem looked up at me with a blank look on his face. I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. "I thought it was just a glorified title to be honest. Manfred, did you have to babysit your head prefect last year?"

"No." Manfred murmured. "Lydia wasn't an idiot."

"Well, it's not my fault that you picked an idiot just because you wanted someone to antagonize Charlie all year." Salem huffed. "Infinity should have been made head prefect from the beginning. Even after practically being a vegetable for six months, she is still the top of the class."

"You make a good point about Asa." Manfred noted. "He has been messing things up and making more work for me a lot lately. I'm just waiting for him to slip up one more time so I can dispose of him."

Dispose of him? That made my stomach churn. I always thought of Manfred and Asa as friends, but then again Manfred didn't care about anyone that he couldn't use. "How can you say such awful things so nonchalantly? These are people you're talking about. How disconnected from reality could you possibly be?"

Manfred said nothing. He didn't even look at me. He continued to sort through paperwork. "Let me handle it." Salem looked up at his brother. Something menacing flickered behind his eyes and I felt even more sick to my stomach.

I glared up at Salem and went to say something, but Manfred cut me off. "I'll give him one more chance to redeem himself. Asa can be a useful beast occasionally. I want to give him a chance."

"Fine, but when he inevitably screws up, I'm going to be the one who gets rid of him. I call dibs."

I was horrified by what came out of Salem's mouth. It made me question if he was really that different from his brother at all. I could understand being angry about what Asa did, but that didn't mean he deserved to die. I found myself getting angry. I wanted to get out of the room and away from both of them. Salem really wasn't different at all. Someone did something he didn't like, so he wanted them to suffer. I didn't care about getting my work done anymore. I threw it down on the desk. Papers scattered in every direction.

"What the hell are you doing?" Manfred asked.

"I'm going home" I murmured. "So you can keep plotting whatever shitty things you two want to do to people. I don't want any part of it. You're both disgusting." I grabbed my coat off of the desk. My things had been sent home with Charlie on the bus. I didn't need to sit in the car with Salem to get home. I would be able to walk just fine without him.

"Let me drive you home, Fin." Salem began to stand up.

"Don't bother. I can't believe I actually thought you were a good person." I pulled my coat over my shoulders and grabbed my bag. I opened up the door and stormed out, slamming the door behind me. I was incredibly happy that I chose to wear fleece tights that day because of how cold it was when I opened the main door of the academy to leave. I pulled my hat and hood over my ears, covered the bottom half of my face with my scarf and pulled on my gloves.

It was dark out and I had no doubt that Asa was lurking about but I would take my chances. I had just stepped off of the property of the academy when I heard a snarl that made the hair on my neck stand on end. I didn't have to turn and look to know what stood behind me. I had seen Asa's beast form before. It was ugly and terrifying and I knew he was itching to rip me apart. I was afraid, but I held my breath and turned to face the beast that would more than likely kill me once we made eye contact. I had actually thought I was going to make it home alive.

I could only see one glowing and yellow eye in the dark. The other was still slightly swollen from hitting him. What I had not been expecting was the blood and the lacerations covering his body. He let out a pitiful howl before collapsing to the ground. "Asa!" I knelt down next to him and was able to get a better look at the skin under his fur as we sat under the street light. There were deep lacerations, more than likely caused by a whip. He was very badly injured and needed medical attention. I didn't know what to do. I needed to help him but it was too cold for me to be able to focus and do it out there, and I couldn't have gloves on my hands while I worked. I looked back at the big academy doors and heaved out a loud sigh. I wrapped my arms around the beast's mangled body and hauled him over my shoulders. I had watched my father carry a deer carcass this way once and found that it was just as effective for werebeasts. I walked back up the stairs and managed to push the massive doors open with my body weight. I sat Asa down on the floor in the corner and looked around. No one was there.

"Okay." I said to myself as I surveyed the damage. I reached out to touch one of his wounds to see what I was working with. This caused Asa to let out a sharp howl and he bit down on my hand. "Ouch!" I drew my hand away and stared into his one good eye. He was terrified. My hand was stinging from the pain and I was actually kind of afraid to look down at the damage. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you." I said softly, blinking back my own tears. "But for me to do that, I need to touch where you are hurt."

"Leave the miserable beast alone. He'll survive." A dry voice said from the hallway. Mr. Weedon stood at the end of the hallway. He had blood splattered on his shirt. It looked just as fresh as Asa's wounds. I let out a sigh of relief because a part of me had thought that Salem was the culprit. "You're getting blood on the carpet."

"I'll clean the stupid carpet." I muttered as I turned back to focus on Asa. His breathing was getting shallow. I reached out to touch him again and he howled even louder than last time but he did not turn to bite me. I focused all of my energy into my fingertips and my hands began to glow. The warm light seemed to calm him because he did not make another noise until I was done. When I had finished, he then let out a malicious snarl and jumped up.

I thought he was going to turn on me and kill me. I closed my eyes and turned ahead, but instead of feeling pain, I heard Weedon let out a frightened yelp and slam a door somewhere. Asa had placed himself between the two of us because Weedon had tried to grab me. He never made contact. Asa had snapped at him. He was protecting me. "What a miserable man. Thank you, Asa."

I don't know if he was still getting magic from my healing spell or if my gratitude was enough to make him feel human, but Asa began to glow before my eyes. He ran down the hallway on all fours faster than I had ever thought possible and out the courtyard door. He was heading for the ruin. I was worried for his well-being and ignored my still bleeding hand to see where he went.

By the time I made it down the hall and out the door, Asa was already out of sight. I frowned. There was no way I was going to go into that ruin at night. I tried calling out to him, but I got no reply. I waited a few minutes. It began to snow and I watched as the flakes began to coat the frozen ground. I let out a defeated sigh and decided to finally head home before Salem realized I was still in the academy and tried to drive me home, and before it got so cold that I would begrudgingly let him. I couldn't believe the things he and Manfred said. It was as if they didn't care that I was there to listen.

As I walked under the streetlights, I thought about what they had said. Manfred had called Asa "disposable". He was a person. Sometimes he was impulsive, clumsy and stupid but he also wasn't fully human. He just wanted to fit in and he was able to do that because Manfred had taken him under his wing. He trusted him. But I wouldn't have expected any less from Manfred. He was selfish and didn't have a kind bone in his body. Everything he did had a motive.

Then there was Salem. Thinking about what he had said made my heart drop. He really wasn't different from the other Bloors. If someone wronged him or got in his way, he was willing to dispose of them as if they were mere garbage found laying in the street. I guaranteed he would do anything to save his own sorry ass. That's why he wouldn't tell us where my father was. He didn't want to be cut off completely. He had his own selfish motives and I didn't need to be around someone like that. I decided I would go back to the academy the next day and break everything off with him. Nothing, not even his mental manipulation, would change my mind. I was determined to sever myself from that toxic family the best I could. I only had to hold on a few more months before I would walk out of those academy doors for good.

Charlie had gone out on an adventure of some sort before anyone had gotten up Saturday morning. When he ran up to our room after the delivery of Paton's food basket from Kingdom's (It had been delayed due to the owner's sudden and unexplainable death) I could see that he was dying to tell me something. "I went somewhere today. I can't tell you the specifics but I found all of the animals. That's not the important part, though. I met someone who gave me this." He thrusted a photograph towards me. It was of a man in heavy snow gear on top of a snowy mountain.

"Is this supposed to be dad? Is that why you're excited?" I asked. I had wanted to tell Charlie that I was planning to go to the academy and break up with Salem and the events I had witnessed the night before, but this was much more important. "I can't tell what he looks like under all of that gear."

"It isn't dad. It's a friend of his." Charlie said, sadly. "But dad is the one who took the picture. While you were in your coma, I learned that I could physically go inside photographs and paintings, remember?" He didn't wait for me to nod. "Well, what if I went inside of this one and turned around? I could see dad! I could talk to him!"

Anxiety began to slowly build up. "Charlie, what if you go in there and you can't come out? What if the climate affects you, too? You really shouldn't do something so drastic before you know how to fully utilize your endowment. Maybe I should go get Uncle Paton." I was incredibly uncomfortable with the idea and reached for the door.

"No!" Charlie grabbed my arm and held me firmly in place. "That's why I'm going to do it with you here. You should be able to pull me back into reality. _Please_ , Infinity? We need to be able to find him and I can't do that unless I know what he looks like."

I knew it was a bad idea, but I would rather that he did this with my help than go behind my back and possibly get himself killed, so I begrudgingly agreed. When Charlie traveled, his eyes glazed over and it seemed like his very soul left his body. He stood stiff as a board in the middle of the bedroom, holding the photograph in front of his face. He didn't move, he didn't make a sound and I wasn't even completely sure if he was still breathing. "Claerwen." I called out softly. I didn't trust in my own abilities to bring Charlie back if I needed to, but I did trust his moth. She was way more powerful than I was.

The tiny white moth flew out from behind our curtain and rested on Charlie's head. I wondered when it would be a good time to pull him back out. My question was answered when his fingertips began to turn bright red. I didn't care if Charlie wasn't going to get the answers he wanted. I didn't want him to die of hypothermia. I panicked and Claerwen was able to pull him out by positioning herself on his nose. He was surprised when he realized that he made it back home. "Claerwen brought you back." I explained. "You should make sure to keep her with you at all times." I watched as she fluttered back to her sanctuary between the folds in the curtains. "Did you get to talk to dad?"

A dazed Charlie dropped down onto my bed. "No, but I thought I was going to die in there."

"Your fingers started to turn red. That's the beginning stage of frostbite, you know." I informed him. He brought his hand up to his face to investigate but they had already turned back to their healthy pink color.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something to me, all that came out was a piercing scream that made my ears pop. It was a scream of anguish, of someone who was in trouble. And the scream belonged to mom.

Both of us ran for the door and bounded down the stairs. The Flames had told Charlie that we needed to keep an eye on her, but how were we supposed to do that when we were away most of the week? We nearly tripped over each other to get into the kitchen and were relieved to see that mom was fine when we finally made it to the source of the sound, however, my heart almost stopped when my eyes landed on Maisie. Maisie wasn't moving, or speaking, or even breathing. She was frozen stiff in the middle of the kitchen with a look of bewilderment on her face.

Mom was crying and Paton didn't seem to know what to do with his hands as they hovered over Maisie but he couldn't bring himself to touch her. "What is it?!" Charlie cried out, breaking the silence. "What happened?"

"I…" Uncle Paton was at a loss for words. He looked so helpless. "I don't quite know."

"She's _frozen_!" Mom cried out.

"She's dripping on the carpet! Get her out of here!" I heard Grandma Bone shriek from the corner of the kitchen.

"At least she's dripping." I said awkwardly. Uncle Paton shot me a dirty look. "I mean, she's thawing. That's good, right? Maybe we can put her by the stove?"

Grandma Bone had risen from her seat. "What has that silly woman done? Probably something she shouldn't have."

"That's enough, Grizelda!" Uncle Paton roared. "Infinity is right. We should move her by the stove."

Uncle Paton and I managed to move Maisie over to the stove although it had been quite difficult. She was heavy and frozen solid. I turned up the dial on the stove until it couldn't be turned up anymore. Within minutes, the house became hotter than hell and everyone was ripping off any extra clothing that they had on. The heat wasn't working. She wasn't thawing out any faster. There was only a consistent, but mocking drip on the floor.

"This has to be a spell." Charlie said, looking at me. His forehead was dripping with sweat.

"You haven't been visiting that wizard Skarpo again, have you?" Uncle Paton asked. Apparently, when I was in a coma Charlie managed pull a medieval wizard out of a painting and into the real world, which was how he got Claerwen in the first place.

"No." Charlie said quietly. But we were both thinking the same thing. Charlie had traveled somewhere cold. What if Maisie ended up in there with him by some weird fluke? I began to get more and more anxious and found myself searching for something to snack on. I grabbed a handful of chocolate truffles from the basket and began to munch on them.

"Uncle Paton, have you eaten any prawns?" Charlie asked suddenly. What the hell kind of question was that?

"No…" Paton then peered into Maisie's slightly parted lips. She had stopped moving mid-chew. "She's been at my prawns!"

"Paton!" Mom sobbed. "Is that really important right now?"

"No, Amy, My dear. You misunderstand me. She was eating these prawns whenever she was afflicted with this terrible ailment. They had to be what did this. They must have been poisoned or cursed." All eyes fell on me, and I realized I was still shoving potentially poisoned chocolates in my mouth. "DON'T EAT ANYTHING ELSE FROM THIS BASKET!" Paton yelled as he swatted everything out of my hands.

"Hey…" I looked sadly at the chocolates on the floor. First my boyfriend turns out to be a spoiled tyrant just like his brother, then my favorite grandmother was frozen, and now all of my candy was on the floor. As I looked at my discarded chocolate, a thought struck me. "Maybe I can help her. No doubt that magic is the culprit. Maybe I can reverse it." I knew I would be able to help Maisie. I had been stuck in my own pity party that I had forgotten I was a white witch. I turned my head and noticed that Grandma Bone had turned pale and slipped out of the room. There was no doubt that she was involved in this mess and everyone had overlooked that I could heal people.

"Oh, Infinity, please!" Mom wiped her eyes and for the first time since this situation began she looked calm and optimistic. I hoped that I wouldn't let anyone down. I walked towards her and rested my hands on her cheeks. She was cold and solid, like an ice statue.

I took a deep breath and focused all of my energy into my hands like I always did before I healed someone. They quickly began to warm up and glow. It was working. Maisie's face didn't seem quite as blue and her mouth began to turn into a smile. But then, everything just stopped. My hands were still glowing but her face lost color again and she wasn't moving anymore. After awhile, my hands stopped glowing all together. I didn't have any more energy to keep going. "I don't understand." I stepped away. "It didn't work." I was incredibly upset. I had never failed to heal someone before.

Grandma Bone had come back and she had a triumphant look on her face. "Not as strong as you thought you were, eh?"

"I know who to get." Charlie said suddenly. "The Flame Cats! They can fix this!"

Grandma Bone wiped the smug grin off of her face and hastily retreated to her room. She hated the cats. However, despite the cats' valiant effort, there wasn't much that they could do either. Mom even tried to call a doctor, but he couldn't seem to figure out what to do with her. Uncle Paton had sent the basket to be tested, but results concluded a day later that nothing seemed to be wrong and the animals that they had tested everything on seemed to thoroughly enjoy the basket. This made me feel even more depressed. My grandma was still frozen and those delicious chocolates had been smacked out of my hands for no reason.


	18. Salem: Returning Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told in the POV of Salem Bloor

Chapter 18: Returning Animals

Salem

My weekend had been incredibly quiet. For whatever reason, I hadn't been able to access Infinity's thoughts. No matter how hard I tried, I struggled to reach her and I wondered if she had somehow grown powerful enough to block me out. I knew she was angry for what I had said about Asa, but she never gave me a chance to explain myself. I needed to find her and tell her that I wouldn't hurt someone, especially for something so pathetic. Yes, I was angry that he had kissed her and had taken something incredibly important from her, but not angry enough to kill him although Manfred thought that I would. Although I disliked him, I would help him. I would help anyone in trouble. But Infinity seemed to forget who I was and let her feelings cloud her judgement. Infinity was an open book. She never thought about how deceit could be used to help other people.

I needed to talk to her and explain myself, even if I knew she didn't want to listen to me. She was going to have to. When Monday morning came around, I scanned for the familiar head of blonde hair but I couldn't find her. I managed to spot Charlie instead, who was difficult to miss with his little albino sidekick with him. I approached him and went to ask him where Infinity was, but the visibly upset look on his face stopped me. I had never seen Charlie look so stressed out. "What's wrong, Charlie?" I asked instead. "Is everything alright?"

"Leave him alone." An angry voice snapped from behind me. I turned to see Infinity standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes were puffed up and red as if she had been crying and it looked like a lot of effort was needed to maintain her scowl. Her being angry at me wasn't the first thing on my mind, but I knew I would never find out what the problem was if I didn't address our misunderstanding first. "It's none of your business what is wrong. Come on, Charlie."

"Hey." I reached for her hand. She tried to pull away, but I was faster. "Come with me. We need to talk." I started to pull her out of the coatroom.

"I don't have time for this. Let go of me." She pounded her fist into my chest. It nearly knocked the wind out of me, but I ignored it and held on. The next punch flew towards my face. I knew it was coming and had plenty of time to dodge it and grab her.

"Swinging at the Head Boy, Miss Bone? I believe that calls for disciplinary action. I don't care what kind of problems you seem to be having with me today, but I told you that we have an issue that needs to be discussed and I expect you to listen." I snapped back at her. I received strange looks, but no one tried to intervene much to Infinity's chagrin.

"Then I'll go on my own. Don't fucking touch me." She said under her breath. She lowered her head and silently followed me out of the coat room. When we walked into the empty Prefect's Lounge, she spoke again. "Typical Bloor, abusing your authority to get what you want."

"Just shut up for a few seconds and listen to me." I rolled my eyes at her. "I wouldn't actually kill Asa. You know just as well as I do that I would help him get away from my family if needed. While I am usually passive and don't involve myself in their affairs, or even against their affairs, for that matter, I wouldn't let an innocent person die just because Manfred didn't find them useful anymore. All I need is for Manfred to believe that I have reason to want Asa dead just as he does."

"Then who ordered Asa to be tortured by Weedon, you liar?" She spat back at me. I was confused. I had just seen Asa not too long ago. He had avoided eye contact with me but his eye was healed and nothing seemed to be wrong with him. "I found him whipped and beaten outside of the academy. I had to heal him or he probably would have gotten a nasty infection or worse. He had open and oozing wounds all over his body."

"What are you talking about?" I stared at her dumbly. This was news to me. Neither Manfred nor I had ordered Weedon to do anything to Asa. He had been locked in a room and fed bland meals, but was never physically punished. "That has nothing to do with us. We didn't tell him to do that. Weedon doesn't answer to us anyway. He answers to my grandfather…" My thoughts trailed off. My grandfather had probably ordered his punishment. He hated Asa for whatever reason and anytime there was a misunderstanding or Asa messed something up, Great Grandfather was especially hard on him.

"Okay, I guess I have no choice but to believe you until I find out anything otherwise. But do you have anything to do with what happened to Maisie?" She asked. She looked so distressed and ready to pull her hair out.

"What happened to Maisie?" I frowned. I liked Maisie. She was always quick to welcome me into their home and feed me. I never got to experience what it was like to have a nice, normal grandmother.

She gauged my expression, trying to decide if I was innocent or not. When she finally decided she thought I was innocent, she began to tell me about the terrible fate that Maisie had met. I could hardly believe my ears when she described the cursed prawns that left Maisie an ice statue that was stuck in the bathtub until further notice. "I couldn't even use my powers." She looked down at her hands and frowned. "Whoever it did this is a more powerful witch than I am and they know it."

"I'm sorry about Maisie. I wonder if we can find a way to help her." I looked towards the door. "We won't be much help if you have detention though. Let's go to assembly." I tugged her towards the door and she followed quietly.

During first break, I wanted to meet up with Infinity immediately but she had work to do in the prefect's office. Many children had been caught talking in the Great Hall and she was quick to give them all detention herself, because the gossip had been about Charlie finding the animals that belonged to his friends, but none of the others. She wanted to be left alone and told me I would just be a distraction so she sent me outside to keep an eye on Charlie, which I had no problem doing.

As soon as I stepped outside, I could tell there was going to be a problem. There was a large group of children slowly approaching Charlie on the other side of the field. I picked up my pace and was able to get there just as Asa Pike shoved himself to the front of the group. "What do you have to say for yourself, Charlie Bone?" He snarled, grabbing him by his cape. What a way to thank Infinity for saving him. I went to speak up, but something was stopping me. I stood off from either group. Charlie had Tancred and Lysander standing right behind him.

"He has nothing to say to you, so get lost!" Tancred yelled, sending out a gust of air that threatened to knock back some of the large opposing group.

"You haven't even got a pet!" Asa hollered back. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Well I do." Lysander murmured. Although he wasn't loud, Lysander was the only endowed student that intimidated me. He had a way about him that demanded respect.

This did not deter the others. They continued to yell and chant, demanding to know where the animals were and that pissed Tancred off to the point that he sent down a downpour over their heads. This scared off the regular children that had been drawn to Joshua's side with magnetism and left Tancred, Lysander, Charlie, Asa, the twins, Dorcas and Joshua standing parallel to each other.

I felt a strange shift in the air. Without warning, Joshua screamed and launched himself at Charlie. I went to yank Joshua off of Charlie, but Asa grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. "You think this is funny? Infinity should have left you to suffer." I snarled at him, pushing him away. "Ungrateful beast." He didn't try to stop me again. He actually looked genuinely sorry and backed off. Trying to yank Joshua off of was a harder task than I thought. He was like a ton of bricks and I couldn't pry him off no matter how hard I tried. At one point, Asa had even come over to help me, but we still couldn't get him. The kid felt like a ton of bricks. The scuffle drew the attention of Gabriel, Billy and Fidelio Gunn as well. "Joshua, get off!" I yelled over the shouting but of course, it did nothing. I wasn't making any progress so I backed off, looking around for someone that could stop the fight. I was hoping to see Manfred but as I searched I heard Joshua let out of the most ridiculous yelp. When I turned, his nose was gushing blood. Charlie had punched him and left him writhing on the ground like the pathetic creature that he was. He looked up at me, scared he was going to get in trouble.

"Did your sister finally teach you how to fight, Charlie?" Tancred asked gleefully, clapping him on his back.

"One day I'll get you, Charlie Bone." Joshua sobbed as Dorcas helped him up off the ground. He looked so pathetic that even Fidelio began to laugh uncontrollably.

"HOW DARE YOU!" I hadn't noticed Miss Chrystal, the strings teacher for the music department, walk up. The anger in her voice surprised me and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Miss Chrystal was known to be one of the nicest staff members in the whole academy. I didn't think I had even seen her frown before this moment. "How dare you laugh at an injured boy! What is going on?!"

Immediately everyone began to shout and point fingers. "All of you, shut up!" I bellowed over the crowd. I hadn't expected it to silence everyone because of how out of control the situation was, but it worked.

"Salem?" She looked at me with wide eyes, as if she hadn't known I was standing there. "You are the head boy. Why didn't you stop the fight?"

"I tried to." I glared in Asa's direction and he dropped his gaze. "Honestly, I don't know the specifics but I promise you that Joshua started this fight."

"Liar." Dorcas screamed at me.

"Asa, what do you say happened?" Miss Chrystal looked over at Asa, who looked back at me with a panicked look and shook his head. He suddenly didn't want to incriminate Charlie but he didn't want to condemn Joshua to sure punishment either.

"It doesn't matter what he says." I spoke up. "Asa originally deterred me from stopping the fight whenever Joshua started it. Joshua should be punished."

The look of hate in Miss Chrystal's eyes made my blood turn cold. "You would do well to remember your place, Salem Bloor. You are only a student."

"You would do well to remember your place, Miss." I spoke back. "I am a Bloor. You are a nobody on my father's payroll that can easily be replaced." I grabbed Joshua's arm. "You're going to the infirmary, and then with the headmaster."

"Don't you touch him." She hissed at me.

"Unless you're his mother, I don't give a shit what you have to say to me." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Unless you want disciplinary actions taken against you as well."

The look of exasperation and frustration in her eyes made me wonder why she cared so much about what happened to Joshua. That was only the look an overprotective mother could have. …Was Miss Chrystal Joshua's mother? She seemed too young to have a son his age. Then again, The Bone family had Infinity quite young. I shook the thought and escorted Joshua into the academy. I would have to look into Miss Chrystal's files some other time.

All the infirmary could do for Joshua was an ice pack. We went immediately to the headmaster's office afterwards. I was shocked to see that my father was not alone. Infinity and Manfred were standing in there with him and they were discussing the animal problem quite loudly and heatedly. "I'm not involved with everything that my brother does. I didn't even know that their animals were back! I heard the rumors just like everyone else this morning."

"You're a bad liar." Manfred grabbed her shoulders. "Do you think I'm naïve?"

"Don't you lay a hand on me, Manfred Bloor." She growled back at him. She swatted his hand away and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

"Let her go." My father sighed. "She has done nothing wrong. You should know better than anyone that no one should be accountable for their sibling. You should also watch ever laying a hand on her again with all the trouble you caused last year, Manfred."

Manfred released her. "Your father is correct. You should be in prison." Infinity adjusted her cape. I could have swore I saw her smirk at him. "May I go?"

"You're free to go." My father said just as he noticed me standing in the doorway with Joshua. "What happened here?" He looked at the ice pack on Joshua's nose.

"Charlie Bone hit me!" He yelled out, causing Infinity to slow her walk.

"What?" Manfred looked just as shocked as Infinity was. "Why?"

"Yeah, Josh. Tell them why." I shoved him forward.

"Because he knows where the animals are! His friends have their animals back." He whined like the pathetic little brat that he was.

"What you were supposed to say was 'Because I jumped on him first and wouldn't stop after Salem told me to'." I corrected.

"My brother did that?" Infinity inspected Joshua's nose. I wondered if they had both learned to fight in the same place. "Sounds like you deserved it, you little urchin."

"How about some professionalism, Miss Bone? You are a student of high status here. I expect you to act accordingly." My father was not pleased that I had brought one of the Bloor Family lackeys in to be punished while I let Charlie Bone stay free but I also knew that he would not fight me on my decision. "Actually, both of you leave. Salem and I will handle this."

Both Manfred and Infinity tried to object but as father became increasingly annoyed they both realized that it would be in their best interest to make their leave. I hoped that Manfred was finished trying to harass Infinity because I couldn't be there to escort her away from him. I had to handle the current problem. Father asked me to explain what happened and I did so as unbiased as I possibly could. He punished Joshua accordingly and sent him on his way, but I stayed behind. I quickly told him about Miss Chrystal's behavior as an afterthought, but I was more curious about Asa's brutal punishment. "I want to talk to you about Asa Pike." I said softly.

"What did Asa do, other than originally trying to stop you from stopping the fight?" He asked.

"This has nothing to do with that. When Infinity left Friday night, she ran into Asa in beast form outside of the academy. He had been whipped and beaten before he was set loose by Weedon. She had to help him because he was in such bad shape. Who ordered that to happen?"

Father furrowed his brow and looked troubled. "No one did. I know that I didn't and I don't think Manfred would have gone that far, and even if he was angry enough, he would have taken punishment into his own hands. That leaves your grandfather. I would go talk to him about it if you want answers. I find it hard to believe that girl actually wanted to help him after all that he has been involved in."

"Infinity is a good person." I picked up the glass prism paperweight that sat on his desk and turned it around in my hands. "That's why I love her."

Father's eyes went wide with surprise. "I knew you were interested in her, but is it really that serious?" I nodded and he shook his head. "It would be beneficial for the two of you to have a relationship in any other circumstance because of the powerful blood you both have, but she is Lyell's daughter. You know this can't go anywhere. Not as long as she's as headstrong as she is."

"I have followed your rules but I will not withhold myself from happiness because of you." I was growing angry. I rarely ever opposed my father but I wouldn't stand for him telling me who I could and could not love. "Obviously you never married for the right reasons, but I want to marry for love and I think Infinity will be that person."

"And how do you think that's going to work, Salem? You can't have Infinity and all of this." He waved his hands in the air, motioning to the academy.

"I never wanted to be a part of this. The academy is going to Manfred. I'm going to go do my own thing."

My father let out a loud, thunderous laugh that confused me and surprised me. I actually jumped a little. "Infinity Bone is a genius. She'll go off to school and become a professor or a doctor or even a scientist. I actually have a stack of scholarships and acceptance letters for her right here." He picked up a file off of his desk that I assumed belonged to Infinity. "Your goals aren't practical. You want to run off to America and be in a band. When she gets married, it will be to someone as ambitious as her and someone who wasn't involved in the disappearance of her father."

"I wasn't involved." I growled back.

"For someone with a perfect memory, I don't you're remembering clearly. Grizelda got rid of the physical photographs, but who got rid of the mental ones?"

I froze. He was right. I was the reason Amy couldn't quite remember her husband's face as well as she once had, and same with Paton. A mix of time and my interference was part of the giant mental block that was slowly dissolving everyone's memory of Lyell Bone. Infinity had remembered him because I wasn't able to get to her. She was overseas when it happened. But when she finally had been able to remember, I had manipulated her memories and distorted them.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, son." He snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you having Infinity come to the Grand Ball? If she's going to carry the Bloor name," He said that part in a mocking tone, "Then it would be good to introduce her now just in case you and Manfred decide that you want to do this together. I would also like to show off our brightest student."

"You _want_ Infinity at the Grand Ball?"

"Why not? Her aunts and grandmother will be there."

I sat and thought for a minute. There could be a chance Infinity could overhear something about her father and she would be able to find it out without me telling her. My father obviously wasn't thinking this through, but I quickly agreed. "It's a little late though. It's this weekend and she doesn't have anything to wear…"

"It will be taken care of. We will inform her mother and I'll give her the money for it. Now leave me in peace, boy." He shooed me out like he would a cat or Percy.

 

I didn't get to see Infinity again until dinner. She seemed tired and annoyed, possibly from all of the rumors going around about Charlie and the missing animals. She passed off her serving duty to Prefect Fiona and sat and my end of the table. She looked exhausted and stressed out. "Did you know that your father made me take back all of those detentions I gave and I did all of that paperwork for nothing? All because of some stupid dinner he should have warned me about prior." She growled and slammed her head on the table after I had passed out all of the plates I was responsible for.

"Yeah, The Hundred Heads and Grand Ball. It's once every decade. It slipped my mind too. There hasn't been one since I was eight. I wanted you to go to the Grand Ball with me."

"What? Why?" She lifted her head and looked at me.

"I want everyone to meet the next Lady Bloor before the next Grand Ball comes along, of course."

Infinity turned bright red and looked away from me. "Knock it off. I'm too young to be thinking about that right now. I have exams and college applications to worry about." I could see that she was trying to hide a smile. "I don't have anything to wear though."

"Oh, that's all taken care of. Don't worry about it." I gave her a gentle smile but I was worried that she wouldn't like whatever was picked out for her. She didn't seem to dwell on it too much though. I could tell she was distracted. She continuously glanced down the table to where Charlie was sitting with his friends. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Something just doesn't feel right." She sighed. "I ate lunch with Charlie and his friends today while you were still talking with your father, and I felt a stab of pain in my chest. I saw Charlie wince too when it happened, like he felt it. We didn't talk about it."

"That happens to me and Manny sometimes." I said thoughtfully. "But we're twins. That kind of stuff is normal for twins. I guess it can happen with siblings who understand each other as well."

"I'm just worried something bad is going to happen and it's all going to be out of my hands." She rubbed her temples and looked down at her brother again.

I decided to change the subject. I knew she had been stressed lately. She didn't look as happy or as healthy as she normally did. I distracted her from her thoughts until dinner was over. She seemed to have lightened up considerably, but all of my work went away when my father stood at the front of the dining hall and clapped his hands together. She knew that he was going to publicly pick on Charlie like he always did when he made an announcement.

"Today, I want to discuss the very noticeable problem in this city. There surely cannot be a single student here who does not know of the problem that our city is facing." He cupped his hand behind his ear and addressed the drama table. "Eh? What was that?"

"No, sir!" The children at the purple cape yelled.

"And what about you?" He turned to the art table.

"No, sir." They replied.

He walked over to the music table and stopped directly in front of Charlie. "What about you?"

"Do you mean the animals?" Charlie spoke up.

"Idiot." Infinity hissed, hoping he would hear. "Always drawing attention to himself."

"Of course I mean the animals, you stupid boy!" Father roared.

"In that case, yes, sir." Charlie murmured. The rest of us repeated a dull "Yes, sir." Behind him.

"It is, of course, a catastrophe when beloved animals disappear. But it sometimes cannot be helped." Father began to pace the room again. His words unsettled me. It was almost as if he knew what caused the animals to disappear, but I couldn't read his thoughts. Lately, my powers had been fading. I didn't want to say anything to anyone, because the last time this had happened, it was because I was sick. My thoughts were disrupted when father swung back around and positioned himself right over Charlie. "But it is unforgivable when someone finds a pet or two belonging to their friends, but won't tell anyone where they were." He dug his fingers into Charlie's shoulders. "Where did you find those animals, Charlie Bone?"

"I…I just found them sir." Charlie stammered. "They were wandering around."

My father became furious at his answer. "STAND UP, BOY!"

Charlie shot up, and Infinity stood up at the same time he did, but I yanked her back down before anyone could notice. "I really don't know sir, they were just wandering around. We could give you your snake back if you would like-"

"I don't care about the snake. It's a feeble thing now." He waved his hand exasperatedly. "DON'T EVADE THE QUESTION."

"N-no sir." Charlie gulped. "Perhaps they will just wander back like the ones I found."

"I would hope so." Father said ominously. "Because I know where a certain boy can be kept until he tells the truth."

Infinity stood up again. "That is enough!" She snarled at my father, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. "I will not sit here and let you threaten my brother like that. What did you say to me earlier, sir? To use professionalism?"

"Shut up, Infinity." I snapped harshly, but she ignored me. She did not stand down to my father when he approached her although he stood a full foot higher than she.

I expected him to yell at her or threaten her, but he didn't. They stood toe to toe, eyes burning into each other. Without looking away from her, he dismissed the room. She didn't budge, although the other students practically ran out. "You're on the losing side, Miss Bone. I like you and I respect you. You have all of the qualities I look for in someone worthy of my sons. Stop fighting this. You're going to get hurt."

"No." She shook her head before leaving the room with me in tow.

 

When the animals returned the next day, I wondered if it was Charlie or Infinity behind their return. Neither of them spoke that day. I did find out that Charlie had been given detention thanks to Matron, who had forgotten the dinner and ball was supposed to happen that weekend. She refused to revoke his detention, which pissed Infinity off because she had to revoke several the day before. I decided to look at it as a blessing in disguise. While Infinity couldn't attend the dinner, Charlie could easily sneak into the dining hall and learn all of the secrets that would more than likely be revealed.


	19. Charlie: Hundred Heads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the POV of Charlie Bone

Chapter 19: Hundred Heads

Charlie

A few hours before the Hundred Head's dinner, I decided to wander the Great Hall. The preparations they went through were astounding. I couldn't believe the beauty that adorned the walls. There were so many weapons such as swords and axes perfectly polished and hung up on plaques. I could see my reflection in the flagstone floors that had been waxed and polished with care. Thousands of lanterns sparkled and glittered from the ceiling. It almost took my breath away. "What are you doing out here, Bone?" Manfred's annoyed voice snapped me out of my trance as I stared upwards. "Especially with that stupid look on your face."

"I was just admiring all of…" I waved my arms in front of me. "…this."

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" He stood next to me and looked up at the ceiling with me. "But you are not here to admire the scenery, you are serving a punishment and should return to your dormitory at once. Your sister isn't here to protect you today." He looked over at me, yet I wasn't threatened by his gaze. I decided to leave it be and walk back to my room where Billy was waiting.

We had plans to sneak out immediately and head down to the Hundred Head's dinner. Infinity had told me that my best bet was to hide under the tables that were covered with long table cloths. She had quickly learned that telling me not to do something wasn't helpful, so she decided to give me safer alternatives to do the dangerous thing instead.

Aunt Lucretia came to announce lights out and left. She was dressed like a fool, possibly with the hopes to snag someone rich. I don't know what kind of rich man would be attracted to the old bat. They were interested in younger women to take as wives. At least with her dressed like that, I knew she wouldn't be back but we stuffed pillows under our blankets anyway to pose as bodies. I took one final look at our handiwork and decided that it would have to do, so we set off. I didn't want to miss a thing.

When we neared the Great Hall, I felt a pit forming in my stomach. I couldn't believe the variety of people who now flooded the halls and the lights that were lit everywhere. I noticed that they didn't use electricity at all. I wondered if any of the Hundred Heads were like Uncle Paton. There were torches fastened to the walls and the lanterns were also lit with fire. Everything looked to mystical, even the people. From the pillar I was hiding behind, I could see Salem very clearly. He was chatting with a young woman with flowers in her long brown hair. He wore a very expensive tailored suit and seemed to fit in well with the crowd. He was popular with the women.

I knew my mission was important, but I wanted to observe him for a moment even though Billy was trying to tug me away. He and my sister were a thing, so it was only natural that I make sure that he was faithful to her. One girl in particular was especially touchy with him. I saw him push her hand away and he gave her a stern look. "I'll have to ask you not to do that. I'm very much spoken for." I smiled and slipped into the dining hall with Billy.

The dining hall had been transformed as well. Each table had a beautiful silk cloth that hung down to the floor, perfect for hiding a twelve year old boy and his eight year old companion. Waiters in gold vests and waitresses in black dresses were everywhere, offering champagne and hors d'oeuvres to the surprisingly rude but well dressed people who gobbled them up quickly. I pointed to the middle table and decided that was where Billy and I would hide.

The room filled quickly and the hundred heads wasted no time settling down so that their meals could be served. I couldn't identify any familiar smells and wondered what they were being fed. I peeked under the table cloth and watched as Dr. Bloor stood to his feet, cleared his throat and commanded the attention of everyone in the room. I hoped something interesting would happen but he just read off all 100 names off of a list in an incredibly monotonous voice while the room sat in silence. I had almost fallen asleep until he began to speak more passionately and my father's name was uttered. I could almost feel Salem tense up immediately although I could not see him. Dr. Bloor was about to tell everyone something that I really wasn't supposed to hear. He began to speak of the day my father disappeared, the day that he had tried to stop Emma Tolly from being traded away and the day that my father crippled Ezekiel Bloor for life.

"How was this crime committed?" Someone called out from the middle table.

"He knocked me down." Old and feeble Ezekiel yelled from his wheelchair. "Tried to kill me! Pushed me, head hit stone, Bingo! I couldn't move. The SCOUNDREL."

"Why would Mr. Bone do such a thing?" Someone asked.

Dr. Bloor hadn't been expecting that question. He stammered and tried to avoid it. "Some people run their establishments differently than ours." He chose his words carefully. "Like most of you, we draw the Children of the Red King towards us. We offer them first class scholarships and the best of everything. We take care of them, protect them and nurture them to prepare them for the difficulties they may face as adults. Sometimes it becomes necessary to remove a child from their parents, for their own good of course." I heard Billy snort with disgust.

"So you steal children?" An indignant voice asked from the first table.

"He said 'remove'." Ezekiel screeched. "If it seems likely that the parents will resist, we do however remove them by any means. In the case of Emma Tolly, Dr. Tolly was willing to hand his daughter over to us. It was Lyell Bone who tried to prevent it by knocking me to the ground. He was unsuccessful and punished for this endeavor."

"Did the punishment fit the crime?" A deep voice asked.

"It did." Ezekiel smiled proudly. I felt my blood begin to boil. "Thanks to my great grandsons! Manfred, Salem, please stand up!" I heard one chair scrape as who I assumed was Manfred stood up. I needed to see what Salem's reaction was. I took my chances and peeked again. Salem was rooted to his seat. I could almost see a vein throbbing on his forehead. What had Salem done? "Salem is being modest, I guess." Ezekiel chuckled. "Manfred is possibly the greatest hypnotist that ever lived. At nine years old, he erased the man's memory with a single glance. He doesn't even know who he is. And Salem holds great power too, he-"

"Stop." Salem stood up and glared at his grandfather. "I want to tell them what I did." He sighed. "I was tasked with altering the memories of his wife, son and uncle. They remember who he is, but if they were to see him on the street, they wouldn't recognize him. Mrs. Bone and Mr. Yewbeam remember a face, but it isn't exactly his face. And Charlie will never remember his face at all." He faced the crowd. "My endowment is mental awareness. I can read thoughts, alter memories and several other things. Lyell's daughter… she remembered him once. She remembered him several times, actually. She's just so damn smart. She had a clear picture of his face and she knew where he was… I used every ounce of strength I had to make sure she could never remember him again." He almost looked to be in physical pain. "I just wanted her to be safe…" He murmured the last part. I could hear the pain in his cracking voice.

I felt sick to my stomach, but I wasn't surprised that he chose the path that he chose. He had told me that I would find my father one day, but he wanted me to be the one who did it… Salem couldn't bring himself to let Infinity be put in any kind of danger although she had proven time and time again that she was resilient.

"Ah, anyway-" Dr. Bloor continued in a stirring voice. "Manfred put the baby under as well. She was 2 at the time and lasted until she was 10, when Lyell's son woke her up." This caused a burst of surprise chatter, which Dr. Bloor silenced with his loud voice. "No worries, that child is still here. So are both of Lyell's children. His daughter Infinity is our brightest student and she will hopefully be betrothed to my son one day." The last part was said in a mocking tone. "And his son, Charlie is still at the academy as well. They both have very priceless gifts. Infinity is an incredibly powerful witch who specializes in healing magic. And Charlie's gift is a gift that hasn't been seen in a long while. He is a picture traveler. It is priceless and it may be several hundred years before it is ever seen again. They have proven a bit… difficult." He awkwardly cleared his throat. He then motioned back to grandma and the aunts. "And these lovely women are their grandmother and great aunts. They keep both children in line and safe."

"I don't mean to be rude, sir, but didn't you tell us that there was a momentous development when we arrived? I'm curious to hear more about it." Someone from a different table asked.

Dr. Bloor cleared his throat. "Of course. Before I can go into the details, I need to brush you all up on the history of a man I didn't know about until a few weeks ago. His name is Count Harken Badlock."

"Hark." Billy whispered. It was the warning that the flame cats had given us the night they came to our house. He was the dangerous person that we needed to watch out for. "That must be the Shadow…"

"Count Harken was eighteen years old when he arrived in Spain and began to court the daughter of a knight of Toledo. The young count was a sorcerer and very soon, Berenice fell under his spell and they were soon to be wed, but the Red King challenged the Count to a magical duel. Although he was strong, the King was even stronger, so he lost his fair Berenice." He had the room entranced in his story. Not a sound could be heard and Dr. Bloor reveled in the attention. "As you all know, the Queen died giving birth to her youngest child, and as customary for his people, the Red King when into the forest to grieve. His children were put in the care of servants, at least until the Count returned. He came back to raise the children of his beloved and taught them all he knew, guarded them with his life, and married the eldest daughter, Lilith,"

"I pride myself on my knowledge of history and I have never heard this before." Another person from the crowd called out. "How do you know of this?"

"Because I heard it… from the count himself." Dr. Bloor said dramatically. Although there was a shocked gasp from everyone in the room, I knew this was going to happen. I knew they had pulled him into our time and I wanted to know how. If they could pull Count Harken and even the Queen (although she was an accident, and a horse) here, what was stopping them from bringing Borlath or any of the other bad children? "I know it's hard to believe that someone from so far in the past is here with us now, but it is the truth and I'm utterly certain of it."

"Who was once a mere shadow in the Red King's portrait walks among us today!" Ezekiel screeched.

An uproar broke out as people shouted their questions all at once. "Where is he now? Who let him out?!"

Dr. Bloor ignored their questions and went on to marvel at how quickly the Count was able to learn our language and customs and become a productive member in our society within a matter of weeks. "But who let him out?" Asked a persistent voice.

"The Count is not even sure." Dr. Bloor admitted. "But he claims it was done with a mirror, the Mirror of Amoret. We found him in the hall during a snowstorm but the person who had released him had slipped away."

"We had thought it was our Venetia here, she's the cleverest and wickedest of us all." Ezekiel chuckled.

"Well, it wasn't." Aunt Venetia pouted.

"That's because it was me." Said a voice. The voice was someone I knew well… it belonged to the person I least expected it to… I was frozen, almost unable to catch my breath. I felt sick and I could tell by Billy's blank expression that he was just as fearful as I was. I heard the footsteps of a woman in very high heels walk passed me.

"Miss Chrystal, please come have a seat, tell us about how all of this happened." Dr. Bloor was just as shocked as Billy and I were. I couldn't wait to tell Infinity.

"I prefer to stand, thank you." Miss Chrystal climbed the steps to the raised dais and stood before everyone.

"Are you going to tell us your history, my dear? And how you released the Count?" Dr. Bloor asked.

"Of course." Miss Chrystal's voice was still light and melodic, but all of the sweetness had been drained out of it. "Seventeen years ago, I was the happiest girl in the world. I was young and in love with a man who I thought loved me back, but he rejected me and got another woman pregnant. I tried my best to intervene and even persuaded him into putting that child up for adoption and went as far as bribing someone to adopt that child, but it was all in vain. He got rid of the child, but married that woman anyway. I was heartbroken. I thought I was going to die. Eventually, I married another man named Matthew Tilpin, and we had a son who I named Joshua."

Joshua Tilpin… That was her son. That explained her behavior towards him and Salem that day that I had punched him. It took everything I had not to exclaim out loud.

"Not long after my Josh was born, my husband left us." Miss Chrystal went on. "He said he was afraid of our baby. You see, things stuck to Joshua. Fluff, toys, dust, just about anything, and when you touched his tiny hands, they clung. It was difficult to draw away. Matthew said that if he stayed, one day the baby would make him do something terrible. He could already feel Joshua bending his will." She paused for a moment before continuing. "My mother often told me that we were descended from the Red King and I had some success with magic as a child, but I felt that it was useless and I gave it up. At least until last Christmas, when my great uncle died, that is. He left me a chest of documents, some as old as nine hundred years. A lot of it was useless and incomprehensible, but there were some papers that connected us to Lilith and her husband, the Count." There were many gasps and Miss Chrystal smirked. "Among those papers, there was a map. It was in perfect condition and it led me to where the Mirror of Amoret was buried. Once I obtained it, I only had to shine it on the portrait of the Red King, onto the shadow, and he came right out."

I shifted uncomfortably at the thought of yet another medieval sorcerer terrorizing the city. I hadn't been paying attention and accidentally bumped into the legs of the man next to me. I held my breath and hoped that he wouldn't look, but the cloth lifted up and a man with a blue turban was looking right at me. I panicked, not sure what to do. I held a finger to my lips and he nodded, sitting back up.

"I have more to say." Miss Chrystal continued. "My son Joshua is very, very powerful. Like the Bone children, he has the blood of two magicians in his veins. If Charlie is to be controlled, then Joshua can do it. And I can handle the little witch girl." She had more hatred in her voice when mentioning my sister than she did me. I wondered what made her hate Infinity so much. She had never said a word to her and she wasn't involved in the fight I had with Joshua. "As for the matter of their father, The count will make sure Lyell Bone is lost forever."

There was a brief silence until a voice above me spoke. It was the man in the turban. "What was the name of the man that spurned your advances?"

"Why, it was Lyell Bone of course." She laughed bitterly.

"You…" Salem's voice made me jump. I had never heard him sound so angry. "You're the reason she had to live with those awful people…" **Go…Charlie…** Salem's voice in my head was weak, but it was definitely him. He was going to cause a fuss so we could escape without being noticed. I decided to take the opportunity and crawled onto the first cart that I could, hoping Billy would do the same.


	20. Salem: Grand Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem's POV

Chapter 20: Grand Ball

Salem

The day of the Grand Ball had come upon us and I almost dreaded it. How was I expected to look Infinity in the face after everything I had learned last night? The only reason I could even live with myself at the moment was because I knew Charlie would eventually tell her… even if it meant telling her everything. I wondered if he had told her already? I paced my bedroom, trying my hardest to hear her thoughts but once again, I was met with nothing. What was happening to me? Why was I becoming so weak?

I was afraid to tell anyone how weak I had become. It was beginning to stress me out and I was carrying a heavy burden. I was expected to hide so many things. My head was beginning to ache. I took a couple of Tylenol and went about my day. I didn't speak to anyone during breakfast, I didn't mingle with any of the Hundred Heads that were still floating about the academy. I didn't try to find Charlie and discuss what had happened. I just…existed.

Then it came time to get ready and I couldn't even focus long enough to do that. My fingers just lazily put buttons in holes and I couldn't even remember how to tie a tie. I never forgot anything… "Salem, what is wrong with you today?" Manfred's sharp voice caught me off guard as he hovered in my doorway. "You look absolutely terrible. Did you forget how to dress yourself?" He took a few large strides and immediately fixed my buttons.

"I don't know what's wrong with me." I admitted. "Everything is foggy."

"What you're probably feeling is insurmountable guilt." He snickered at me as his fingers looped my tie correctly. "Why do you let this relationship go on when you still continue to help us instead?"

"It's not as if I have a choice." I grumbled, looking him in the eye. A blush creeped to his cheeks and he wasn't able to maintain eye contact. I scoffed. "You're not even able to hypnotize anyone anymore, are you?"

"Maybe not, but I'm not becoming weak like you. I can tell something has gone dull behind your eyes too. I've acquired something greater. Can you say the same?"

"Yeah. Love." I retorted.

"She wouldn't love you if she knew what I know. But you should go. She's waiting for you to pick her up." He put my car keys in my hand, turned on his heel and walked away.

I hoped the drive to Filbert Street would clear my head. Tonight wouldn't be about gossip and magic, normal people from the city would be there. This was supposed to be a night I could spend with the girl of my dreams. Father's words stuck with me. She was going to be someone important someday, she wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to help the sick both medically and magically. And what was I going to do? Attempt to be famous? Run off to the states and try to make a name for myself? I sat in my car outside of number nine Filbert Street, wondering if I should even bother to go in. All I was doing was ruining her life and now I was going to sit back while I let them erase the memory of Lyell Bone forever.

Another pulse of pain rippled through my head. I couldn't do this tonight. I couldn't face her. I put my car back in drive and sped away, hoping someday she would forgive me for all that I had done. I drove back to the academy and ignored those who tried to talk to me as I made my way back to my room. I could see the triumphant smiles on the faces of my father and brother. They knew my guilt would eventually win. They knew they could break me into submission. I didn't give a shit anymore. I threw off my coat, loosened my tie and collapsed onto my bed, hoping the throbbing pain in my head would go away.

I felt like I had been asleep for eternity when I felt someone try to shake me awake. "Jesus Christ, wake up!" An annoyed but still forever sweet voice hissed in my ear. When I looked up, I saw Infinity hovering over me, shaking me roughly with her small hands. I hardly recognized her though. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head, her lips were painted the same bright red as the dress she wore. The dress was breathtaking, especially so on her. The sleeves were long and lace, but sat off of her shoulders. The dress was long and form fitting. She looked almost like a siren. "Mr. Noble brought me. What the hell are you doing? You were supposed to pick me up an hour ago!"

"Infinity, you can't be here." I murmured groggily. "There's something you need to know, and it will make you hate me."

"Oh, shut up." She huffed. "Charlie already told me everything. You need to get up now though. I'm not staying at this ball all by myself. I'm more pissed that you left me waiting for you dressed like this than I am for you completely turning my memories into apple sauce. We do what we have to."

"Wait… you're not mad?" I sat up and looked at her clearly in the light. Her face was clouded with annoyance, but not hurt or rage.

She faltered for a minute. "Well… I was. But Charlie talked me down. He told me that you helped him get out of there alive and with all of his memory still in tact, so that shows me that you aren't bad at all. You were just trying to keep me safe. Now will you please come downstairs before I brutally murder the sorcerer that keeps touching my mom?" She offered me her hand and I took it.

I allowed her to lead me to the ballroom, but she decided to take a different way. She wanted to go by the music tower. "Why?" I asked her.

"The music… Why aren't they having Mr. Pilgrim play at the Grand Ball?" She asked as we got closer. Sure enough, I could hear him playing a beautiful but haunting melody. It was supposed to be a happy song. I knew enough about reading and hearing a tune that I could pick up on that, but for whatever reason the way he made it sound was so sad. The Count was making Amy Bone forget her husband altogether, but no one wanted to run the chance of her seeing him before the magic was complete. I had done a good job altering his likeness in her brain, but they wanted her to forget everything.

I wanted to stop Infinity as she climbed the stairs up the tower, but she was on a mission. She didn't care that she was disturbing him, it seemed that the music had control of her, almost as if she were floating up the stairs. The song he was playing was not one that belonged to any composer, it seemed to be one that he had written himself. "Infinity, he might get angry that you're bothering him. It is his day off after all."

"No, I want to listen." She pulled her arm away from me and twisted her hand around the door as the clock tower across the city chimed loudly. Mr. Pilgrim, who had heard her enter immediately stopped playing. He turned his head and jumped to his feet almost impressively quick.

"Amy?" He asked, staring at her in disbelief. His eyes were shining brightly, like a man who had just woken up from a deep slumber and had regained his footing.

Infinity scoffed. "No, Mr. Pilgrim. It's me, Infinity. I'm sorry to-"

"Infinity?" He froze. He recognized her. He knew that it was his daughter who stood before him. The bell tower rang for the fifth time as he stepped towards her, hand extended. His eyes were brimming with tears. "My God… Where has the time gone? Why are you here? You look beautiful."

"Oh… I just wanted to listen to your song." Her cheeks turned bright red. She was confused. She had no idea who he was but he knew who she was. The tables had turned and I began to feel very sad. "Who wrote it?"

"I did… For my children." The bell rang for the 10th time and Lyell's eyes clouded back over. He had been able to show himself to his daughter for only a few minutes. No wonder Tolly Twelve Bells had been stolen. That is what would have woke Lyell up too. I thought they were just being paranoid.

"You have children?" Infinity stepped closer.

"Once…" He said wistfully. "Two. I don't remember them much now." He slammed his hand down on the keyboard, frustrated. This made Infinity jump back in surprise. "They're dead. Now if you don't mind…"

Infinity nodded and we made a hasty retreat. She didn't say anything about Mr. Pilgrim's strange behavior. She didn't say anything at all until right before we opened the door. "You may have put up a mental block once, but that was the face of a man hypnotized. I have no proof, but that man is my father, isn't he? That's why he calls me Amy…" Her voice was flat.

"Yeah… That's him." I admitted. "I refuse to erase your memory again… Do what you want with that information."

"I…I don't want it." She looked up at me with sad eyes. "Please take it away." She begged.

"I can't…" My heart was heavy with guilt. For the second time that night, I couldn't bring myself to face her and I walked away. I couldn't handle all of this right now. My head was pounding again and I felt sick.


	21. Manfred: Forbidden Knowledge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Manfred's POV

Chapter 21: Forbidden Knowledge

Manfred

I had been informed that Infinity Bone and her mother had arrived. I hadn't seen her at all, but my father told me that he had let her know that Salem was in his room sleeping. I wondered how angry she was. We had planned to make Infinity hate him somehow to keep her out of the way, but he was doing a good job of that himself. For once, everything was going the way it was supposed to.

I watched as Mrs. Bone danced with Mr. Noble and felt a small victory. Lyell Bone was going to be gone forever and there was nothing that little twerp or his sister could do about it. "Excuse me, Manfred?" A small voice caught my attention. I looked down to see a beautiful woman clad in red with golden blonde hair piled on her head. When she looked back up at me, my voice almost caught in my throat. I hadn't recognized Infinity at all. She almost looked like someone worthy of being a Bloor.

"What? What do you want? Where's Salem?" I faked the annoyance in my voice so she couldn't pick up on the fact that I had been caught off guard.

"He ran off back to his room. I have a huge problem that I need you to help me with." The urgency in her voice worried me. I wondered if it had anything to do with Salem feeling sick. I offered her my arm because I was not allowed to break etiquette at any point in the night (father's rules). She looked confused but she took it anyway. I led her out of the ballroom and into the hallway.

"What is going on?"

"I need you to hypnotize me, right now." She was desperate. This was the first time that anyone had ever asked to be hypnotized by me. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't ready for people to know that I couldn't hypnotize anymore although some were starting to figure it out. I had wanted to wait until my new endowment had become just as intimidating and powerful as my old one.

"Hypnotize you? Why?"

"I know who my father is, Manfred." Her voice was solemn. "I don't want to know who he is."

I laughed at her. I couldn't help it. "That's not possible. I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but-"

"Yeah, yeah. Salem erased my memory. I know. I apparently found a loophole. Mr. Pilgrim happened to remember who he was for the few seconds I talked to him today and it made me realize who he was."

I froze. Even if she didn't have her memories of him back, she was right. "So… you don't want to know who your father is? You don't want to tell anyone?" I was confused. Why had she come to me?

"Oh, I want him to come back." She looked up at me with determined eyes. "But there is nothing I can do about it right now. There is no way to completely wake him up. Congratulations, Manfred. I've come to stroke your ego. You hypnotized him so well that I have no idea how to bring him back. I would rather not know if there is nothing that any of us can do."

She made a good point and restored a bit of my confidence. I had messed Lyell up so much that even now, Infinity had no way to help him even with her own endowment. I didn't want to admit to her that I could not hypnotize her, although I had no other choice. "I can't do it." I said after thinking.

"What? That's what Salem said too. Why?"

"I don't know about Salem, but I literally could not hypnotize you even if I wanted to. Look at my eyes." I was willing to lie a little bit for Salem. If he hadn't told her that he couldn't read minds anymore, he had a reason. He had given me the courtesy of not telling her that I couldn't hypnotize her. "When I destroyed Charlie's wand a few months ago, it messed me up. I started to lose my endowment." She stared into my face. This was one of the few times I had been able to look into her eyes without her fighting to get away. She was beautiful and I felt a little bit better being able to just take that in on my own.

"What? How does that happen? Does that happen to people? Oh no… Could that happen to me?" Now she made direct eye contact with me as she spoke.

"I have no idea. There's usually some kind of reasoning behind it. I tried to destroy a very powerful magical item. But don't you dare say anything to anyone." I warned. "Because what replaced my hypnotism is far worse. If you say anything to anyone, I will burn all of the skin off of your body."

"Gee, Manfred. That's great." She rolled her eyes at me and began to look panicked again. "If you or Salem can't and won't, respectively, help me, then who can?"

"Don't be an idiot." I scoffed at her. "The Hundred Heads and their children are here. I'm pretty sure it won't take much to find another hypnotist." What I had in mind was better than a hypnotist, but I knew Infinity wouldn't agree to it. "Go to my father's study. It should be unlocked. Wait for me there, please." I advised her. She nodded and walked away from me and I turned my attention to the ballroom, scanning for the person that I needed. He wasn't hard to find, for he was the most powerful person in the room. He had left the side of his lovely date, whom he had left in the care of Grizelda. He was conversing with my father and great grandfather about something, but I did not know what. I would be berated for interrupting, but this was important.

I walked across the room and approached him cautiously. "Excuse me, Mr. Noble. I have a bit of a problem that requires your attention immediately." I murmured. Usually I was a confident person, but I was intimidated by the enchanter. He was the only person in history to almost match the power of the Red King himself.

"Not now, Manfred." Great Grandfather shrieked at me. "Haven't you learned not to interrupt, you insolent boy?"

My brow twitched with annoyance and anger, but I didn't falter or back down. Mr. Noble turned to look me in the eye. I could see that he was curious. "I see that you just left the company of the younger Miss Bone. What has happened?"

"I need you to tend to her, immediately. I sent her to my father's study to wait for you." I didn't want to let everyone know, at least right here, that Infinity figured out who Lyell was. The fact that when the bell tower rang Lyell remembered himself briefly was a problem, but that was something that had always happened and he had never been able to recover or improve. Before I lost my endowment, I had even tried Tolly Twelve Bells on him and he still only recovered until the final bell stopped ringing.

An animalistic gleam shown in his eyes and he smiled. "Is she waiting?"

"You're not to do a thing to her." My father said suddenly. "I know that look in your eye." It was unlike my father to stand up to someone whom he knew had great power. Despite her being a giant pain in the ass, my father had a soft spot for Infinity. In another life, he would be ecstatic that she and Salem were together. "Why did you leave a Bone to my office to snoop?"

"You're the one who doesn't lock the door." I noted. "But that doesn't matter. We need to get to her now before she changes her mind." I wasn't making sense to them.

"Grandfather, I need you to stay behind and mingle with the guests." Father said painfully. Great Grandfather was awful with people. He was more sadistic and cruel than I. But he was nervous of the fact that Infinity was in his office and I'm sure he was curious as to what I needed the Count's assistance with.

When I opened the door, Infinity was sitting in a chair, staring blankly at the fireplace. When she turned to look at us and saw who I brought with me, she immediately jumped up and backed up. "No, no, no, no. I don't trust him."

"Oh? I take it you know who I am? Who I really am?" Mr. Noble smirked. "Who told you, dear girl? Can your other son not be trusted, Harold?"

"Salem can be trusted just fine." I said quickly. "And Infinity can be too."

She pushed herself closer to the wall, trying to keep at least one piece of furniture between them, as if she could be protected. I couldn't help but scoff at her effort. "Lyell Bone's daughter can be trusted?" Mr. Noble continued, approaching her slowly.

"I know who Mr. Pilgrim is." She said finally, trying to step behind father's desk. Father froze and Mr. Noble raised his eyebrows. "I'm here so I don't have to remember."

"I thought your other son erased her memory? What I'm doing with Amy is a lost cause if she remembers him. Lyell will survive if he is still loved and remembered." Mr. Noble stepped towards her again and she planted herself behind me, firmly holding my arms as if I could save her.

"Salem did nothing wrong." Infinity snapped. "You'll never kill of our father completely. Charlie may not remember his face but Charlie alone with his spirit can keep him alive."

"Do you have complete confidence in that?" I snorted. These idiots always went on about how love and faith could conquer anything. I found it hard to believe that these words were coming out of the mouth of such a logical and intelligent girl.

"Obviously I do if I'm here to let you make me forget him." She loosened her grip on my arm just enough that I was able to reach behind myself and pull her in front of me.

"Then can you stop fighting me for just one second so we can get this over with?" I begged her, wrapping my arms around her midsection and keeping her arms pinned down at the sides.

"No! He's going to do something weird to me. Just look at him. I don't trust him." She brought her hands up to grab my arms, but she wasn't scratching at me.

"That's too bad, my dear." In one fluid motion, he crossed the room and took her face into his hands. "Such a beautiful girl. I'll give you a gift, Harold. For your hospitality and compliance." He stared into her face and she was immediately enraptured. He was able to sway her so much faster than he did Amy. He was getting more and more powerful. Her eyes sparkled and her hair seemed lighter. Her skin became fairer and she looked as if she would float away. "She'll make a worthy wife to your son. Someone trusted to carry your name." He said finally. "All of the valor has been sucked out of her. She'll be a compliant ragdoll now. Right, my dear?"

Infinity was a ghost of her former self. She stood unsteadily on her own two feet. "Yes, sir." She looked back at me and smiled an empty smile. While her eyes sparkled, were still blank and empty. I couldn't efficiently describe it. He had turned her into what my mother had become before she snapped and left. And more importantly, she had been turned against her brother. She leaned back into me and I was scared that if I let go of her, she would fall.

I knew Salem would be angry and wouldn't like this, and I voiced that opinion. To that, the enchanter laughed. "She's not for Salem. She's for you, my boy. She's a Yewbeam, and you're a Bloor. Any child that comes from your blood will be powerful. Not as powerful as me, of course, but more powerful than either of you. Besides, I see the way that you look at her."

"What? I can't do that to my brother. That would break his heart and probably kill him. He's in love with her." Although I was considered dark and completely evil, Salem was my twin brother. I was unable to not feel empathy when regarding him. I even felt bad for what had transpired last year. I didn't feel bad for the Bone family or anything regarding Lyell, but I felt guilty for hurting my brother. I even began to feel guilty for hurting her.

"He's weak anyway. He was powerful at one time, but that time has gone. You're more powerful than him. You deserve all of the finer things."

"You took the things that made her fine." I noted. "Her grace, her intelligence. Her fire."

"Oh, those will come back in due time, and with your influence she'll be even better than before." The Count waved his hand. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a lady waiting for me." He dismissed himself and left father and I with an enchanted Infinity.

"This is what's best for now…" Father frowned. "Once Lyell dies, we can always ask him to break his hold. Salem will hate us for a while but it will be a win-win for us. We won't have the constant risk of losing the academy, and Salem can have what he wants."

I accepted this, not that I had a choice otherwise.


	22. Asa: Changing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asa Pike's POV

Chapter 22: Changing

Asa Pike

The day Infinity healed me, something in me changed. It was the mixture of that awful man being in the city and her power, but I believed it was mostly her power. Infinity had given me a priceless gift that day. She had given me the gift of making my own choice. I was no longer confused and forced to feel certain ways. When night fell, I had the choice of whether or not I wanted to change my form, I was able to chose whether I wanted to be helpful to or hinder Charlie Bone, and I began to understand love and feelings regardless of gender.

And although the choice was mine, I let her influence my future because I believed she and Charlie deserved my help because they were always helping people without expecting anything in return. On Monday, I wanted to thank her but I wasn't able to find her until right before we were to go to the King's Room to do homework. I approached her as she walked back to her locker in the Blue Coatroom. I called out her name but she didn't seem to hear me. I called her again, and she stopped and turned. What I saw when she looked me in the eyes made me sick. That was the face of a girl who had been enchanted.

"What is it?" She asked me. She seemed, for the most part, with it. But I could smell the evil and fear.

I didn't want to talk to her. I wanted to get away from her. She made all of my senses scream and want to retreat in fear. The Count could see the world through her eyes now. He had her under his control. "You dropped something." I made up something stupid. I didn't want the Count to be suspicious of me and then relay his suspicion to the Bloors. I handed her a pen I was holding.

"Oh. Thank you." She said quietly and took it. I nodded and walked away.

I noticed how she was treated for the week. Salem spoke to no one, including her. He was angry, biding his time. Charlie and all of his friends were wary of her. The only one who paid her any mind was Manfred, and even then he kept her from forgetting things or stumbling into walls. She was like a child.

"Why don't you keep an eye on her, Asa?" Manfred said finally, giving me a task on Tuesday. I didn't refuse it. Neither Infinity or I really belonged anywhere. We didn't speak to each other but I hardly let her out of my sight and I kept her safe until she got on the bus to leave on Friday.

I decided to spend my Friday night as a beast. I wanted to run around and forget things. I wanted to burn my energy. I ran in the ruins. I knew them like the back of my hand. That night, I could hear Joshua Tilpin and his witch of a mother cackling and flinging rocks at birds. "I was told it was an owl. Save your aim for the owls, Josh." I heard Miss Chrystal say to her son. Although I was but a beast, I knew they were on lookout for Emma Tolly. She was out and in bird form, obviously in the shape of an owl. I hoped that she would fly faster and higher than they could hit.

I stayed behind in the brush, observing. The sound of a dull thud and an owl screech was my alert to act. I watched the owl fall to the ground, wings spread and head up towards the sky. It hit the ground hard and I feared the worst. "It's not dead, but it soon will be." I heard Joshua say. I made my presence known and stepped out, growling and snarling.

"Good beast." Miss Chrystal said proudly as I hovered the scared owl. "Bring us the bird."

I didn't want her to hurt Emma. I barred all my teeth, jumped over the owl and threatened to attack. They both left, screaming in fear. I didn't want to scare Emma with my beast form, so when she left, I changed back. Bits of ripped clothes saved me from the elements and stopped me from exposing myself. I was grateful that I had decided that I didn't care enough to change when I shifted. I picked the owl up in my hands and fixed her twisted wing. "The queen and the tree are in the ruin." I whispered to it, before sending her up in the air to soar the skies again.

The next day, just after sunset, instead of becoming a beast, I decided to prowl the ruin as a boy instead. I knew something important would be happening and I could ward off anyone who threatened what Charlie was trying to do. It was the least I could do to help. I watched them from a distance as they gathered the tree. Charlie's friends and few other people I had never seen before all stood with Mr. Ominous, the owner of the Pet's Café. They stood in a circle, hands joined together.

Whatever they were doing wasn't working, because I heard Mr. Ominous step back and cry out "It's no use. With spells, their word is law. I'm not under 20. I don't know why I thought it would work."

I stepped out from behind the pillar I was hiding behind. This was my chance to give Infinity something that she deserved. "I'm under 20 years old. Maybe I can help?"

"Asa?" Charlie stared at me, confused. "It's after dark. How are you…Human?"

"Infinity gave me the most beautiful gift anyone could have ever given me. When she healed me and showed me the compassion that I did not deserve, something in me changed. I can control myself." I stepped between Emma and Olivia and extended my hands. They took them gingerly.

They must have trusted me because they began to move. As we circled the great tree with its scarred trunk, blood red tears began to fall. I began to panic a little bit. Was this what was supposed to happen? The tears began to fall faster and faster and I feared they would never stop. The blood-like liquid now came to everyone's knees. What was wrong? The air hummed and the branches sighed and groaned. An icy wind tore at us and chilled me to the core. I closed my eyes. I couldn't look. Was this my fault? Had I somehow messed something else up?

"Charlie, look!" I heard Billy Raven cry out. I opened my eyes to look as well. The tree had changed. Rain was pouring through the branches and running down the trunk. The scars in the tree turned white and washed away the red water that had stained us moments before. Everyone released their hands, stopped moving and stared.

The red and gold leaves began to fall and were carried off by the wind. I knew what they were off to do. They wanted to set wrong to right. I knew the enchanter would be cast from this world, that Mrs. Bone and Infinity would no longer be enchanted.

Charlie showed me a secret tunnel that lead to the Pet's Café that we all took. As we walked back, I felt a hand clap down on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Asa?" Lysander Sage asked me.

"I hope this works, because I'm going to be in huge trouble with Manfred either way. I just want it to be worth it." I sighed. "Even if we can't wake Charlie's dad up, I would be happy enough with that awful enchanter out of our world so that everyone can be normal again." We walked into the Café and I received many strange stares when they noticed I was among the other children. The parents who did not know me wondered why they didn't see me go into the tunnel, and the ones who did were confused as to why I was standing before them, after sundown, as a boy. When I scanned the room, I also noticed a very vaguely familiar man. We made eye contact. He was an older man with steel gray hair and ice blue eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that this man was a Bloor. Salem looked exactly like him, from build to facial features.

It didn't take me long to figure out who he was. He had to be Dr. Bloor's father. There was no one else he could be. I had been told that he was killed in an avalanche, but there he stood. I saw him say something to Charlie before he quickly slipped away.

I wanted to go find Infinity in case I didn't get a chance to see her again… I didn't know what the Bloor family would do to me. I stopped and talked to Paton Yewbeam before I left, asking where she had been when he left.

"Wandering around in the cold, in cathedral square. That awful enchanter was using her as a sentry, it seems." Mr. Yewbeam answered. I nodded and ran out of the café. I wanted to see her, to make sure at least something worked. I ran as fast as my two legs could carry me. I didn't spend much time running in human form, but I wasn't slow. I at least had stamina.

I could see her as I ran off of Frog Street and into the square. She was with her mother. They were both confused and chattering and crying. When I approached, Infinity saw me first. "Asa?" She asked. "You're…human."

"That I am." I held out my arms. "And you're you. I'm happy I was able to do something right."

"What?" She stared at me in disbelief. "You did this? You destroyed the enchanter?"

"The Red King did that." I answered truthfully. "I just helped your brother and his friends give him a boost. I hope that it's enough to wake up your father. …Do you remember who he is, Infinity?"

"…No." She answered sadly. "I do not."

"It's okay. Charlie knows." I stuffed my hands in my pocket. "You all have a lot to do tonight. I'm going to have to go. I may not see you again. Once Manfred finds out that I helped in any way shape or form, I'm sure I'll end up in some kind of trouble."

To my surprise, Infinity nearly tackled me to the ground with a hug. "Thank you so much for everything you've done."

I wrapped my arms around her too. "Thank you for helping me too. You're the reason I'm able to stand in front of you on two legs right now. When you healed me that night, you also gave me control of my own body. That's all I've ever really wanted."

"When you and Charlie were doing whatever it was that you were doing, did Salem come and help too?" She asked.

"He didn't… I'm sorry." I knew she was disappointed. I hugged her a little tighter.

"You were willing to risk your life…for me." She said slowly. "You're my hero, Asa Pike." She stood up on tip toe and kissed me. It was a small, gentle peck, but on her own, she kissed me. I felt the blush creep to my cheeks and out to my ears.

"Salem loves you." I found myself saying. "Something is wrong with him right now. I think he's sick again." I couldn't let myself tear her away from Salem. I loved her, but in a different way. The love I felt towards her was one of loyalty and good friendship. "He has stood up to them a bit regarding you. It's hard for him. Once he figures out how to break away, I don't doubt that he would do anything for you. Please be careful tonight." I kissed her on the cheek and walked away with a smile on my face.


	23. Lyell

Chapter 23: Lyell

Infinity

I didn't know where Charlie was or what he was doing, but mom and I decided to just walk home and wait for him there. As we approached our home, I noticed that there were candles lined up on the kitchen windowsill. Only one person could have put them there. Mom and I picked up our pace and practically ran into the kitchen where we found Maisie, completely unfrozen, enjoying a cup of tea. She looked up at us and smiled. "Good evening, dears. You look positively frozen. Have some tea!" Mom let out a sob and threw her arms around her, almost causing Maisie to spill her tea.

When Charlie and Uncle Paton came home, Maisie had already had dinner set out and cooked. Grandma Bone was nowhere to be found. She knew that she had lost yet again and was sulking from somewhere else in the house. Everything was normal and everyone was laughing. It seemed that I was the only one out of mom and Maisie that knew that we were enchanted, but that might have been because I had only been affected for a week. Mom and Maisie had been affected for several weeks.

Uncle Paton began to tell Mom about everything that had happened with dad. She told him that he had been hypnotized by Manfred and all of their memories had been altered by Salem (Which came as a shock to Maisie because he was "such a nice and handsome boy"). Charlie finally told us who dad had thought he was and where he had been the whole time. He was Mr. Pilgrim, the man who had been giving me piano lessons every single day. My father had been teaching me how to play the piano. They assigned me to that class so they could sit back and laugh.

"Infinity was persistent. She had it figured out a few times." Someone said from the doorway. We all jumped at the voice that I knew well. Salem stood there, looking awful. He was pale and looked like he had lost some weight. "Not much can get by her. She's perceptive. They had so much faith in me wiping her memory that they actually put her in classes with him. They sat back and laughed every single day as father and daughter sat side by side, playing the piano. They got an even bigger hoot when they watched him try to figure out how he knew either Charlie or Infinity." He leaned up against the doorframe. "The night of the Grand Ball, she and Lyell ran into each other. Whenever the clock tower chimes, Lyell gets a bit of his memory back until it finishes. And he recognized Infinity. Actually… he recognized Amy. He thought she was Amy. You asked me to get rid of that memory. You didn't want to know who he was if there was nothing you could do about it." He looked at the vial of tears that mom held in her hand. "Now there's something you can do about it. But you have to do it exactly right. My help to you is telling you where Lyell will be. At Midnight, Lyell will be in the academy chapel. I'll make sure the doors are open. That's all I can do for you. My endowment is gone. I have become weak. Unlike Manfred, mine was not placed with a new, even more powerful one. I'm washed up." He gave a faint smile and looked over at Charlie. "That is why I turned down your invitation to be at the tree. I would have been useless to you. Not because I didn't want you to find your father." He turned to leave but Uncle Paton called out to him.

"Salem, my dear boy. Do you wish to get out of that academy? Away from your father and brother?" He asked. I wondered where he was going with this. "We have found your grandfather, a friend of Lyell's. Bartholomew Bloor. I told him about you and he would very much like to meet you."

Salem stopped and looked back at us. "Bartholomew? I was told that he had died in an avalanche."

"He's alive and well. You'll be safe with him. I will take you there now. I'm sure Charlie and Infinity will find a way to get into the academy."

Just before midnight we set out to leave the house and were stopped by none other than Grandma Bone. "Where do you think you are going at this hour?" She asked.

"To go get your son." Uncle Paton said triumphantly. "You thought you were so diabolical and cunning, hiding him right under everyone's very noses. Well, we know where is now and the kids are going with Amy to bring him home."

Salem and Paton got into Paton's car, ready to make the journey to where this Bartholomew Bloor (that had I had never heard about until now) resided and Salem gave my mother the keys to his car so we could drive to Bloor's. I honestly didn't even know that my mother could drive. She didn't own a car because they were so expensive and I had never seen her take Uncle Paton's. She was a cautious driver in the snow and kept murmuring "I can't believe this is real" under her breath as we approached the academy slowly. We didn't drive onto the property. We wanted to be as quiet as possible on the off chance that maybe the doors were still unlocked from when Salem left.

What we got was even better. The doors leading to the cathedral were wide open. There were leaves on the flagstones and bits of snow. The door had been open for a while and the sound of organ music carried on the air. My heart was ready to beat out of my chest. I couldn't even imagine how mom and Charlie felt. I had never known Lyell, and it wasn't until recently that I learned that he was my father. Ailwyn had been great to me, even if he worked a lot. I always felt love from him and he was always supportive. I missed him dearly and would always see him as a father, but I knew Lyell would be a great dad too. I didn't detest them for putting me up for adoption. They had thought they were doing the right thing by giving me to someone that was family, someone that they thought would stay around.

I felt someone squeeze my hand and looked over. Charlie had taken both mine and mom's hands. The smile on his face was huge. He had told people his father was alive and that he would find him. He finally did it and he was proud of himself, just as he should be. Charlie never gave up. We walked into the chapel together, and as soon as my mother set eyes on dad, she began to call out his name, running down the aisle. Charlie and I followed. When we came to a stop behind him, he turned and looked at us. He was bemused. "Do I know you?" He asked. The cathedral clock began to strike twelve. Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a little glass vial. He uncorked the top and held it out to him. "For me?" Dad asked. "What do I do with it?"

Both Charlie and I stared at each other. We hadn't gotten that far. Charlie opened his mouth to speak a figure stepped from behind the cathedral and slapped the vial from Charlie's hand. Manfred Bloor sneered at us with a look of triumph in his face. "That's the end of your little game, Charlie Bone." He kicked the broken bottle away.

I couldn't control the anger and hatred that spewed out of my body. I reached forward, ready to curse someone for the first time. I had swore to never use hurtful magic, but Manfred Bloor needed to die. Just as I was about to release my fury, the sound of rustling leaves made me stop. I lowered my hands and watched as the autumn colored leaves began to swirl in the shapes of leopards. They were not some illusion, they were real live leopards and they were ready to tear someone apart.

Manfred let out a yelp of fear and ran around the pews as they let out a thunderous roar. They chased him out of the chapel and over the chimes, a single dreadful scream could be heard followed by silence.

"Oh Lyell…" Mom let out a sob. "Will you ever wake up?"

I couldn't bear to look at anyone. I stared out the door and wondered if Manfred was dead. "Ouch!" I heard someone exclaim from behind me. I turned to see my father crouched on the ground, holding his bleeding finger. He had cut it on the glass. He brought it to his mouth to suck the blood away. He slowly stood up and a glimmer of something could be seen in his eye. "Charlie…" He looked at my brother. "Infinity." He gave me a smile. When his eyes fell on my mother, he didn't say a word. His eyes filled with tears and they embraced each other. I could feel my own eyes filling with tears as I reached for Charlie and hugged tightly.

"You're so brave, Charlie. I couldn't have asked for a better brother. I'm sorry I didn't help more."

"Children." My father's voice made us let go of each other and look at him. "Let's go home. We have so much to talk about."

We walked out of the chapel, completely forgetting about Manfred. Blood painted the snow and he lay in a heap on the ground. Part of me wanted to leave him there. He deserved it. I stopped and stared at him. He was going to bleed out. There was no way for him to survive. "Infinity, don't look." Mom tried to pull me away.

"I can't let him die." I found myself saying. "I can't do that to Salem. And if he dies, imagine what they'll do to Asa. What they'll try to do to us." I crouched down next to him in the snow and stopped his bleeding. "He's going to need blood." I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. His pulse was weak. I looked up at my father who was seeing me use my endowment for the first time. Pride filled his eyes. "Go home. Get away from this place." I instructed. "I will be home, but I need to handle this."

I expected a fight and did not get one. I knew Dr. Bloor would be heading outside to see if Manfred was successful. I hoped that he had a cellphone on him. I looked at Manfred's torn and lacerated face and throat. I was covered in his blood. When Dr. Bloor and Mr. Weedon opened the door. They only saw me holding someone covered in blood. They assumed it was my father and had triumphant smiles on their faces until they realized what had happened. They resorted to horror and anger. Dr. Bloor was yelling and Mr. Weedon ran to find a phone.

"What did you do to my son?" He screamed at me.

"I saved his life!" I yelled back. "He'll live and only because of me. He's lucky." I placed my hand over his face, fighting off any infection that may have gotten into his open wounds.

"You're healing him then? Completely?"

"Not at all. I want him to remember what being evil and nasty gets him. I want to remind all of you." His breathing was slowing. The trauma to his throat was too much. I managed to do a little repair, so his vocal chords wouldn't completely go to shit and he wouldn't need a breathing stoma. I put my mouth to his and gave him oxygen. The thought of doing this made me feel ill, but it was the only way to make sure he didn't get permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen. "In case you decide to go after my father, remember that what I give, I can also take away."

When the EMTs and paramedics arrived, they asked how the accident had happened. "Leopards." I said, but they didn't believe me. The wounds were obviously claw marks of a large animal, a beast way larger than what Asa could become. They commended me on keeping him alive and had taken me to ride in the ambulance with them. Halfway to the hospital, he regained consciousness and began to panic. "Manfred, you need to hold still." I said coldly. "You can't speak. Your vocal chords are lacerated and they are giving you oxygen."

Suddenly, his eyes rolled backwards and he began to go into shock. "Shit." The EMT began to work on him, slapping his face and trying to keep him conscious.

I placed my hands on his face and tried to regulate everything in him that I could, but it was taking all of my energy. The reason I wanted to go to medical school was to help people. I would never be a miracle doctor though. My endowment had its limits and I was pushing them. I had to stop helping him and let the EMTs do their job. I promised myself I would stop after they were able to relax him.

"You…you're one of those freaky Bloor's kids too, aren't you?" The EMT looked at me. "You healed him with your hands."

"Yeah. I can't do all of your jobs though." I snapped back. I didn't like being referred to as freaky. I glared at him and a hint of recognition appeared on his face.

"You're that girl." He said, surprised. "The one I picked up from the academy last winter. You were in a coma for months and got up and walked out of the hospital the day you woke up. There was speculation that this guy-" he motioned to Manfred. "Did this to you. Yet you're helping him."

"I'm not like him." I said simply.

When we got to the hospital, Manfred was immediately sent back to the OR while Dr. Bloor had to fill out paperwork. It was late and not many people were around, so many calls had to be made and many on call doctors would have to come in. One of the doctors came walking through the sliding doors. Dr. Dobinski ended up taking me home that night after I told him everything that I knew. He told me he would call Zelda in the morning and that I should probably expect a call from her as well.

I thanked him for everything and headed into the house. It was 2 in the morning by the time I made it up the steps and inside. No one in the house had even thought about sleep. Everyone was crowded in the kitchen with the exception of Grandma Bone. I assumed that she had gone to her sister's for the night. I sat down at the table between my brother and Uncle Paton with heavy eyes. I was exhausted. I wondered how long it would be before I could use my endowment again.

"Infinity, are you alright?" Maisie asked me, sliding a cup of tea in front of me. "We've been worried. You're absolutely covered in blood."

"I'm fine and Manfred will live. But I can't help but to feel like I made a mistake. The backlash of this will be fierce. They'll come after us again. They're going to hurt Asa and they might even hurt Salem." I sighed. It was a long and emotional night. I was tired and the tears began to fall.

"Either way, we will suffer. They would have been more reckless coming after us if Manfred would have been killed. I think you did a very good thing, Infinity." My father spoke to me and took my hand from across the table. "Salem is safe as long as he is with Bartholomew. Nothing can touch him. I don't know what we can do for your friend Asa, but we can figure something out. And as for me, you don't have to worry about me or your mother. We have decided to leave town for a little bit."

I froze. "What? We just got you back. You can't leave." Charlie spoke my thoughts.

"We have to. At least until I get my full memory back. There's something very important that I misplaced that is very much wanted. I can't lose that information. It's too important. So we're going to go out onto the sea where they can't find us."

_Out onto the sea._ This was enough to send me into get my heart pumping and feel an overwhelming sense of dread. I slammed my fist onto the table. "You'll die out there! The sea is dangerous. There wasn't even supposed to be a storm that day but my father's boat was still destroyed and he is dead." I felt strange talking about my adopted father with my biological father, but I needed him to know what happened. "The only father I knew is dead, the woman I thought was my mother abandoned me as soon as she could and now you two are leaving too." I left the table, went up to my room and slammed the door. I ripped off all of my bloodstained clothes and threw them on the hamper. I quickly changed into clean clothes before I curled up in my bed and buried my face into my pillow.

It wasn't long before someone came up after me. I honestly wanted to be left alone for a little bit, but with everything that had happened recently, I knew that wouldn't happen. I heard a short knock at my door before it opened. My father walked in and sat down on my bed. "It's my fault you had to go live with them." He said solemnly. "Your mother and I were careless and stupid and you were the one who suffered because I was selfish. I knew this woman named Titania. I didn't know it at first, but she was in love with me. She pretended to be a good friend and confidant whenever I went and told her that Amy was having a baby. She told me that we wouldn't be able to handle it, that Amy and I would resent each other forever and no matter what, our relationship wouldn't work out and our poor child would be in the middle of it. She suggested adoption. I talked to Amy about it and that's when Lily offered to take her. I didn't know Titania paid her off. She was killing two birds with one stone. She was giving Ailwyn what he wanted, so he would continue to pamper her and she was getting hush money from Titania. I had found out about it whenever I found out about Emma Tolly. That's why I was so interested in Emma Tolly, I didn't want to see another little girl get sold like that." He rested his hand on my hair but I refused to look at him. "I'm sorry that you went through all of that because of us, and I'm sorry you have to continuously go through this because of us. And I'm sorry I have to leave again, but I have no choice. You need to have faith in me, Infinity. Where else do you think you got your cunning? Ailwyn wasn't the only intelligent father you had. Someday, I'll tell you everything. It'll all make sense. But there are people that will try to control your mind. Salem isn't the only person in the world with that power and the Bloor family will enlist many other endowed people for help."

I sat up and looked at him. "I didn't mean to yell at you." I said finally. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me.

"I know you didn't. Just promise to trust me. Trust that I will be okay." He squeezed me tighter.

"I promise."


	24. The Return

Chapter 24: The Return

Infinity

It had been six weeks since my father had woken up from a deep sleep that had lasted over 10 years. It had been six weeks since Asa Pike went missing without a trace. I had hoped that Asa had fled town on his own and nothing had happened to him, but even if that wasn't the case I wouldn't even begin to know where to look. In six weeks, my parents had left us alone to go explore the seas and get away from the city, they had bought their old home that they had lived in before dad had been hypnotized, Grandma Bone had moved out, and Manfred had been out of commission. On top of that, I had not heard a single thing from Salem either. I felt as if something was being hidden from me. I had plans to make Uncle Paton tell me where they were so I could see him.

"What are you thinking about, my dear?" Maisie asked as she prepared supper in the kitchen. Uncle Paton and Charlie had gone to look at the progress on the house and I had decided to stay behind with Maisie. I had been given potato peeling duty while she chopped carrots and onions next to me. "If you don't get your head out of the clouds, you'll cut your fingers off."

"They'll grow back." I sighed. This wasn't a lie… I could probably regenerate my own chopped off finger tips if I needed to. "But I'm just thinking about Salem. I miss him. Do you think Uncle Paton will take me to him?"

"Ask him when he gets home. Maybe you can go out next weekend. I'm sure he misses you as well." She smiled at me and began to boil all of our vegetables. In the foyer, I heard the front door open and slam shut.

"Hey, Uncle P!" I called out. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go somewhere with me next weekend?" I waited for his response but was only greeted with the sound of bags plopping down in the hall instead. "What did you two bring home? A body?" I asked jokingly as I walked out into the hallway.

"I'm not your uncle. Come carry my bags upstairs, you useless child." A very familiar voice snapped at me. Both Maisie and I were shocked to see Grandma Bone walk into the kitchen. "I'm back."

"Why?" Maisie asked, apparent disgust in her voice.

"Anyone would think you're sorry." Grandma Bone said, with mirrored disgust in her voice.

"I am." Maisie snorted. "I thought you were gone for good."

I was unable to control my laughter. I was given a dirty look from Grandma Bone and went back to setting the table. I did not set a space for her. "Why are you back, anyway?" I asked. "I highly doubt you'll be welcome here when dad gets home."

"You forget who bought this place and gave your ungrateful mother and brother a place to live." She hissed at me.

"Oh, you're a hero! That was so nice of you after you helped the Bloors try to kill off your only son." I spat sarcastically. "I'm leaving. I'm sorry, Maisie." I wiped my hands off on my jeans and headed for the door.

"Don't you want to hear about your Great Aunt Venetia? She's getting married, you know. A waste of time at her age if you ask me. Getting married in general is just a waste of time. And he has children, too. Being a stepmother at her age. Hmph."

"You all could drop dead tomorrow and I still wouldn't care to hear about it." I called out and slammed the door. It was getting dark soon and I didn't know where to go. I looked at the door of Benjamin Brown across the street, shrugged, and figured Charlie would end up there too at some point after finding out Grandma Bone was home. I walked over and knocked on the door.

I heard Runner Bean barking and Benjamin opened up the door. "Oh, hi. Charlie isn't here. I don't know where he is." He said uneasily.

"I'm not here for Charlie." I said awkwardly. "Grandma Bone came back and I don't really want to be home. I was wondering if I could hang out here for a little bit. I'm sure once Charlie realizes she's there he'll be over as well."

Ben gave me an understanding smile and opened the door to let me in. For a half an hour, we sat awkwardly in his living room watching Runner Bean try and destroy a toy ball. "He has a lot of energy tonight." He noted, smiling fondly at his dog. "Why don't we take him for a walk?"

As we both stood up to leave, there was a knock at the door. Ben answered it and I could hear Charlie talking. "Grandma Bone is back."

"I've heard. Infinity is here too. We're about to take Runner for a walk, actually. Do you want to come?"

Charlie looked up at me and seemed relieved. I assumed that Maisie had told him that I went off on my own and that worried him. Ever since dad came back, we spent a lot of our time worrying about each other. Especially while we were in the academy.

We all set out on a walk. It had been clear out when I had headed across the street to number twelve, but now a strange mist was setting in and we had a hard time seeing runner if he ran too far in front of us. I knew it made Ben uneasy when he couldn't see his dog. I don't know if it was the mist, or if something had happened but Charlie was acting strange. He kept looking over his shoulder and was generally uneasy. Finally Benjamin broke the silence and asked him what was wrong.

"Something weird happened over at the house when Uncle Paton and I were there. All the floorboards are ripped up, guys. Like someone was looking for something. And then when Uncle Paton and I were walking home, I saw something strange in the streetlight before Uncle Paton exploded it. There were two figures, but something about them was off. They weren't exactly human. They had fur on their faces-"

"Like a beard?" I scoffed.

"No, not like a beard." Charlie gave me a dirty look. "I know what a beard looks like, thank you. One of them was definitely female. And their eyes were far apart… almost like a dog's. And they were yellow."

I stopped walking and Benjamin and Charlie stopped too. "Was it Asa?" I asked, hopeful. Asa had gone missing and no one had seen hide nor hair of him for several weeks.

"Were you listening to anything I was saying? It wasn't Asa. Their fur wasn't gray either. It was kind of a copper color. I would know Asa if I saw him." Charlie was annoyed and I couldn't blame him. I had been acting quite snarky lately.

"I'm sorry, Charlie." I frowned. Today was a strange day. The mist continued to get thicker and I could almost taste the salt on it, as if I were by the ocean. It made my tongue dry and my lips burn.

Suddenly, there was a howl. It was a loud and mournful howl that sent Runner Bean running. "That howling," Benjamin said when he was able to grab Runner by his collar. "I've heard it before. It's scaring Runner. He's usually never this scared. Maybe we shouldn't go to the park."

"I think that's a good idea." I said. Something about that howling frightened me too. I wondered if it came from the same creatures that Charlie had seen. It wasn't Asa's howl though. I knew that for sure. I thought about it as we walked come. "If Asa is okay and ran off to start a new life somewhere, I hope he sends me a sign or something soon."

"I'm sure he's okay, Infinity." Charlie said reassuringly. We quietly walked into the house and snuck up to our room. We would have to return to the academy tomorrow and I was dreading it. Something felt wrong in the city and Charlie sensed it too. We packed our trunks and climbed into our beds but we could not fall asleep.

My heart was heavy and I felt so lonely. While Charlie's friends were nice to me, all of my own friends were gone. Zelda was still away at school, busy being a genius. Asa was missing and Salem was hiding. I thought about how I had taken these people away from Manfred and wondered what he wanted to take from me in return, as if having my father for ten years wasn't enough of a victory.

As much as I didn't want to return to school on Monday, I knew that I had to. When I got there, I learned that there was a new boy in the music department and I had not been formally informed. During assembly, I stood off with the non-department staff in my usual awkward spot next to Dr. Bloor and stared off into the distance. The boy was a strange boy with what seemed to be a greenish tint to him. He was the same age as Charlie, but much taller. I would have bet that if we stood side by side, he would have been taller than I. "His name is Dagbert Endless." He said, speaking the first words he had spoken to me in a month. "Your brother has been assigned to monitor him and be responsible for his actions if he is not satisfactory in teaching Dagbert the rules."

"Why have you thrust him upon Charlie rather than sending him to me?" I asked. "I can tell just by looking at him that he's endowed. What does he do?"

"That's for him to tell you." Dr. Bloor answered stiffly. "I forgot to inform you of a change. With Salem gone, you have a new Head Boy to work with. Riley Burns, in your department." He nodded towards where Riley Burns stood. He was a tall and bulky boy with sandy colored hair and tanned skin. His hair was a sandy blonde color and he spoke with a thick Irish brogue.

"My grades are better than Riley's." I found myself saying. Riley was incredibly smart as well as talented, but he was nowhere near the level I was. I should have been given the Head Girl spot. "I'm a seventeen year old senior. I was supposed to graduate at sixteen if I wouldn't have been hospitalized."

"Riley Burns didn't almost kill my son. Riley Burns doesn't mettle in affairs that have nothing to do with him." Dr. Bloor lowered his voice. "That's why Riley Burns will be getting your full ride scholarship."

"What I give, I can take away." I said as ominously as I could manage. I wanted to cry, but I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "Riley can be your head student, I don't care. But if I don't get that scholarship..." I was trying to get into Cambridge or Oxford for pre-med. There was no way my family would be able to afford it unless I was given scholarships.

"Wait." Dr. Bloor gripped my shoulder with his large hand and spoke through clenched teeth. "The scholarship is yours for now, but you won't be able to hold that above me forever. You're not the only witch around here, you know." He turned on his heel and walked away.

I didn't have time to worry about Dagbert and Charlie today. I had my own classes and problems to worry about. With Manfred out of commission, I had less detentions to look through. Mondays were easy days usually, but I had midterms to study for and was awaiting the results of entrance exams. In between classes and during breaks, I shut myself either in the prefect's room or the library. I didn't see Dagbert Endless again until I walked into the King's room that night. I followed in behind the last of the children.

I got a better look at Dagbert when I sat down at the head of the table. I was in charge in this room now, being the oldest. Although I wasn't much older than Lysander, who usually sat at my right side and intimidated the unruly children who felt that they didn't need to respect me.

My eyes had not been playing tricks on me earlier in the day. Dagbert was definitely tinted green. His hair reminded me of seaweed and his skin had a bit of a drowned look to it. His eyes were a bright aquamarine that I had never seen on a human being before and he had a bit of a fishy smell to him. I guessed that his endowment was related to water. "You must be Charlie's sister." He said to me when he saw me. "I was told that you're a witch and that you heal people."

"Yes." I said flatly and opened my book. I didn't want to make small talk with this boy. Something inside me was screaming at me not to trust him.

"Where's the last one? The wolf boy?"

Dagbert's question grated my nerves. I looked up at him and gave him what I thought was my best glare. "He isn't here. Please get to work." I snapped.

I didn't deal with Dagbert or Charlie or really anyone the rest of the week, at least until matron handed me a pink slip with a very familiar name on it in the morning. They had given Charlie detention. I would have to head home without him and of course Billy would stay with him as well. I didn't get a chance to see Charlie off before going home and I wasn't going to miss my opportunity to leave. I had something that I needed to do.

The bus ride home, Salem was the only thing on my mind. I was bound and determined to see him this weekend. Uncle Paton had told me that he had no way of hearing from Bartholomew without going directly to where he lived and that made me uneasy. "His daughter Naren has a way of communicating, kind of like Salem does. She uses the moon and shadows somehow to make words. If there's an emergency, Naren will contact Charlie." Uncle Paton had told me before. "She can only communicate if she has an item that belongs to Charlie. As long as she has that glove, we'll be okay."

I had never met Naren. I had never met any of that part of the Bloor family. Everyone thought Bartholomew died in an avalanche when in reality, he had just been lost for a very long time. His wife had danced herself to death, leaving Dr. Bloor to be raised by that awful Mr. Ezekiel. Now, Bart had a new wife. A Mongolian woman named Meng and together they adopted Naren when she was a baby after her whole family had died. My father said he could be trusted and that Salem would be safe with them. Uncle Paton had told me that they would be very compatible and had a lot in common. I hoped he was happier there than he had ever been at the academy.

The bus finally came to a stop on the end of Filbert Street where it always did. I grabbed my trunk and got off, eager to eat something that wasn't bland, get out of my stupid uniform, and ask Uncle Paton if there was some way he could take me to go see Salem before I exploded from worry. As I wheeled my things up the street, I felt as if I were being followed. I didn't know what to expect if I looked behind me. Would I see those weird not-quite-human creatures Charlie was talking about? Part of me hoped I would see Asa in that stupid disguise he tried to fool people with when he spied for Manfred.

I finally got the courage to turn my head and saw a flash of yellow run behind a garbage can. I hadn't gotten a clear look, but I knew it was a girl with long black hair. The yellow had been her jacket. How much damage could a girl do? I stopped walking and turned around completely. "I don't know who you think you are or why you are following me, but you better show yourself right now because I don't take too kindly to being spied on." I called out to the figure.

She gave up easily and quickly. When she stood up, I was able to get a better look at her. She wasn't much older than my brother. She wore a thin yellow jacket and her black hair was tied in a ponytail. She had olive colored skin and slanted eyes. She gave me a shy smile and a wave. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really following you." She said as she cautiously approached me. "I was looking for Charlie Bone. I have been trying to contact him for several days now."

"Charlie is still at school." I stared at the girl as she got closer. I wondered if this was Naren. There weren't many Asian girls in this city, but with the cloud of mystery that shrouded these other Bloors thus far, I highly doubted Naren would come into the open during the day. "I'm his sister, Infinity."

"Infinity?" The girl picked up her pace and fell into step next to me. "This is even better. We haven't gotten the chance to meet. I'm Naren. I actually came here looking for you, but I wasn't sure who you were. You two look very different, you know. Charlie has dark hair and dark eyes, and you're very light. I need you to drop off your things and come with me as soon as possible."

"Wait, are you going to take me to Salem?" I began to walk a little faster. When she nodded, I basically ran. Naren refused my invitation into the house because she didn't want to be seen by my grandmother, but advised me to change clothes quickly. I ran upstairs and changed into a comfortable sweater, a pair of leggings and some boots. When Grandma Bone asked me where I thought I was going, I ignored her and ran out of the house. Naren and I both ran until we got about three streets away, and then slowed into a fast walk. "Is he okay? Why haven't you contacted Charlie?"

"I've tried to contact him all week but I was never able to reach him. For my endowment to work, the moon needs to cast on a flat surface and he was never able to open the curtains for me to get to him. I was worried and I couldn't wait any longer, so against the wishes of both my father and Salem, I decided to come and get you."

"Against the wishes of your father and Salem? What happened? Is someone hurt?"

Naren's eyes began to get glassy and she blinked back tears. "I don't know how to tell you this… Salem didn't want you to know, but his cancer came back. He didn't want you to know because you may not be able to do anything about it… It's in his brain this time and it's making him act differently. By the time we finally got him to go to the hospital for his headaches and blackouts, we were already too late. They gave him a few more weeks to live and his condition is deteriorating rapidly. It's inoperable and he refused chemotherapy and radiation. We found out at the beginning of the week but he didn't want you to know and father didn't want me to try and leave home to tell you. We live very far in the wilderness away from people. Father is on edge right now because we have a hospice nurse living in our home to make Salem comfortable. But I was told that you were very powerful. I think if we have even a little bit of a chance, we should take it."

It took a few minutes for everything to set in. Asa had told me that he thought Salem was sick again and I realized that the signs were there. His endowment went away because it was completely controlled by his brain. He was forgetting things and acting in a way that wasn't Salem at all. He was more emotional than usual and he did seem to always have a headache or be in some kind of pain. The blackouts must have come later. I was angry that he didn't have enough faith in me to let me try, but I could see why he didn't want me to. He knew that I would blame myself forever if I failed and couldn't save him.

Naren and I didn't speak the rest of the way to where we were going. It was quite a walk and she seemed to live on the very outskirts of town in the wilderness. She took me across a weathered old bridge and towards a cottage in the middle of nowhere. There was a man out front, pacing back and forth. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. He looked like an older version of Salem. He was tall and broad with steel gray hair and piercing blue eyes that were identical to Salem's. When he saw me, those eyes squinted under angry brows. "What have I told you about going into the city?!" He bellowed as he briskly headed towards us. "Who have you brought with you this-" He paused when he got closer and saw me. "It's you… Lyell's daughter."

Of course he recognized me right away. I was often told how much I looked like my mother and there was no doubt that this man was Bartholomew, who knew my mother. "Infinity." I introduced myself as I stared at this man in awe. "My name is Infinity. May I please go in and see Salem?"

Bartholomew told me that nothing would prepare me for what I saw. He warned me that the Salem that was bundled up in a hospital bed in his living room looked nothing like the Salem I had saw last. I had a hard time believing that. I thought I was ready, but I was wrong. When I walked in, Bart walked in ahead of me and asked everyone to go wait in the kitchen so I could have privacy. He told me he would stay behind with me. I told him I wouldn't need him, but I'm happy he didn't listen to me.

When laid eyes on Salem, It felt as if my heart literally tore in half. The person laying in that bed was someone I didn't recognize at all. The person laying in that bed had been reduced to skin and bone. His eyes were sunken in and there were dark circles under them. There was dried blood under his nose from oxygen tube irritation, his cheeks were hollow. He had all of his hair, but it was wet from sweat and clung to his head. His lips were dry and cracked. "The hospice gave him morphine to make it all easier. They'll eventually take his oxygen and let him die in his sleep. The pain is too much for him to be conscious now. He has gone blind." Bart's voice cracked. "It may be too much for you, Infinity."

"It won't be. I was able to heal my own brain trauma. I can do this." I wasn't able to speak above a whisper. I slowly walked up to his body in the bed and gently placed my hand on his forehead. He was ice cold and he felt clammy, as if he were dead already. His breathing was very shallow and faint. "Even if it kills me, I will make him better."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his dry, cracked ones. This was always the most effective way to give someone my energy. A kiss was passionate and gentle enough to send a jolt of energy through someone with almost all healing passion. I could feel every inch of my body glowing as I caressed his face with my hands and kept my lips pressed to his. I needed to give him everything that I had, even if it meant giving him a piece of myself.

"I think it's working… Naren! Meng!" Bartholomew sounded as if he were miles away when he called out to his wife and daughter who were in the other room. I could barely hear what was going on around me. "He's moving…"

I felt arms wrap around me and hold me close. Salem's lips twitched under mine. I heard the doctor run in behind me, panicking. "I haven't seen a recovery like this since-" He shuffled around me but dared not disturb me. "Infinity Bone. No wonder…" I heard him say.

"I see you've met our little witch before, Dr. Tanaka." Bartholomew said proudly.

"I'll have to schedule a brain scan and run tests, but I've seen her do this before. To herself."

I didn't care what was going on around me, I just cared that Salem was better. I could feel that his tumor was shrinking and it was almost gone. With one last push of energy, I completely destroyed it and began to heal the rest of his body with the last of my strength. My endowment would be unusable for a while, but I didn't care.

With all of his strength, Salem heaved me onto the bed and instead of me kissing him to bring life back to his body, he kissed me to show me how grateful he was. When he pulled away, he looked like the Salem I had met over a year ago. "I can hear what you're thinking." He said gleefully. "You did it. You made me all better."

I could barely keep my eyes open. "Good." I murmured. "Now I need a nap."


	25. Salem: Wilderness Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem's POV

Chapter 25: The Wilderness Wolf

Salem

For the first time in a month, my head felt clear. While my endowment had not completely come back, I could at least read the thoughts of the people who were in the room with me. Everyone was in awe of the amazing things Infinity could do. She had fallen into a very deep sleep after healing me. She slept on the couch in grandpa's living room under his watchful eye while I had to go to the hospital with Emee Meng for a series of tests. I was labeled cancer free. It was a miracle, one that Dr. Dobinski was able to recognize as Infinity's work. "I understand that you're not living with your father anymore. You may not know of some of the things that have happened, but the night that Infinity got her father back, Manfred was attacked my leopards. She saved his life, you know."

"…She did?" I was shocked. I had known nothing of this leopard attack. I assumed Manfred had tried to sabotage their attempt at waking Lyell up and had gotten hurt in the process, yet Infinity still spared him.

"She saved his life, but she made sure he still suffered. He's lame now and every word he speaks causes him pain. He has four large scars on his face from his forehead to his chin. Our plastic surgeons could only do so much with unhealed tissue. They told him to come back at a later date so they could do more work."

"That's my brother, Emee." I looked over at my grandmother. "I can't believe she saved his life. Why would she do that?"

"She's a special girl, my dear." Emee squeezed my hand. "She didn't want you sad, even if it meant putting her own personal revenge aside."

When we returned to the house, it was empty. Infinity was no longer asleep on the couch and grandpa and Naren were nowhere to be found. I almost began to panic when Emee pointed to the barn. The lights were on. When I walked out and opened the door, I was surprised to see that Naren, grandpa and Infinity weren't alone. Two hooded figures sat huddled close together with Infinity sitting across from them. She still seemed weary, but she had a look of determination on her face.

"What's going on?" I asked. The two hooded figures snapped their faces up to look at me and I was hit with such shock that I almost fell backwards. Four pairs of yellow eyes had honed in on me. I couldn't quite understand what was looking at me. They were almost human, but they were both quite hairy. I was able to tell that one was male and one was female.

"These are Asa's parents." She said softly. "Don't speak so loudly, Salem. They've been through a lot." She patted the hay next to her and I felt that I had no choice but to sit next to her and hear what they had to say. I knew Asa had helped with waking Lyell up, but I didn't know what was going on. Asa has been missing for six weeks. They're telling me why.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you…" I murmured, feeling like a child who had done something wrong. "I'm Salem."

"We know who you are." The man said indignantly. "Your father is the man who is torturing my son."

"I promise I have nothing to do with that. I've been quite occupied since Infinity's dad woke up." I said defensively.

"I don't think he's blaming you." Infinity put her hand over mine and I suddenly felt calm. "What happened, Mr. Pike?"

"You and your brother are the reason this happened, Miss." His voice seemed to teeter between upset and angry. His fists were clenched and his eyes watered. "But I'm not angry… I am proud. I am proud that his morality shifted to the right side. He betrayed the Bloors in a big way though, so they took our boy and they tortured him." He looked up at Infinity. "The gift you gave him, they took away. He can't control himself anymore. They kept him in the dark so long that they turned him back into a beast against his will. He's locked in a cave in the wilderness and not even you can get through those bars. And they won't give him back until we give them what they want."

Something clicked in Infinity. "My brother and uncle saw you in our house… They sent you to look for something that my father may have hidden, haven't they?"

Both of the Pikes looked uncomfortable but Mrs. Pike nodded. "They wanted us to find a box. A box inlaid with mother of pearl. We can't find it anywhere. Whatever is in that box, they don't want your father to find it first."

I bit my tongue. I knew what they were talking about. A long time ago, a will was made that gave complete control of the academy to one person. There was a fight. Septimus Bloor made the original will and gave it to his daughter Maybelle on his deathbed. This made her sister Beatrice, who was a witch, very angry. Maybelle, who had married Lucius Raven, had known that Beatrice would retaliate and put the will in a box and gave it to her daughter Evangeline. Beatrice forged a new will and gave it to her brother Bertram, who passed it on to his son Gideon, who passed it to his son, my Great Grandfather.

The real will, after it had been given to Evangeline, was given to her nephew Hugh and his new bride Sally on their wedding day. Hugh and Sally passed it on to Rufus and Ellen Raven on their wedding day. They did not know what was in the box, they just knew it had to be kept out of Bloor hands until it could be figured out. Rufus feared that he wasn't strong enough to protect that box and gave it to Lyell Bone for safe keeping. My great grandfather made sure that Rufus and Ellen would perish in an accident because he had paid a mechanic to sabotage their car with faulty wiring, but their son Billy had lived. The academy rightfully belonged to Billy Raven but my great grandfather wasn't willing to give it up and would kill anyone who got in the way.

"I wish I could help you… But there's no way for me to know. I didn't even know Lyell was my actual father until a year ago." Infinity frowned.

"Even if you did know, I wouldn't let you give them that box." I said. My comment took everyone by surprise. "I know what's in that box and they can never ever have it. I will figure out how to save your son, but you have to promise me that you won't look for that box anymore." I looked over at Infinity. "And if you really want me to tell you what is in that box, then you can't leave my side. You have to stay with grandfather and I and you can't go back to the academy or your brother. Will you do that? If I tell you, will you stay?"

I was asking a lot of her. I was asking her to pull herself out of school yet again, risking her chances to go to the best college and I knew that my father was threatening her with scholarships. "Yes. I will stay." She smiled softly at me. "As long as you tell me what's in that box later."

The Pikes left to keep Asa company. I could still hear him howl occasionally and I wondered if it carried into the city. That night, we all sat around the fire and grandpa and I told Infinity what was in that box. She almost didn't believe us, but eventually came around. "So everything really belongs to Billy?" She couldn't believe her ears. "No wonder they tried to kill my father… And he knew what is was, didn't he?"

"Yes. But it was no use if there was no way to open the box and give someone solid proof." Grandpa said gravely. "Now that you know, you have to stay with us until you're safe because we will be telling you more secrets. They have a new way of looking into the brains of people. Your great aunt, the clairvoyant one, is getting stronger and has some degree of mental awareness. If they get even an inkling of any of this, you're as good as gone. That's why your father and mother have left and they keep Charlie and Paton in the dark. You need to be with either Salem or myself at all times."

"But my family will worry." She looked over at Naren who was nervously biting her nails and staring at the window. "Naren, can you tell Charlie that I'm safe?"

"Yes. His window is open tonight." She said wistfully. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a glove that I recognized as Charlie's. "He knows you are alright."

"Would you look at that?" I put my arm around Infinity's shoulder. "You and I are on the run again."

Monday night seemed like a normal night, at least until right after I was about to fall asleep. I was woken up by the sound of grandpa yelling at all of us to pack up our stuff and get in his van. He said that hunters were coming and that we would be discovered if we didn't move fast. Packing up our stuff was difficult, but that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was getting Infinity into the van. "They're going to kill Asa!" She cried. "We have to do something."

"Asa's parents will make sure nothing happens to him." I grabbed her and pulled her back, restraining her arms. "The city people are idiots. They'll end up killing each other before they even get their so called Wilderness Wolf."

We got her into the van and began to drive away. Just as we were about to exit the city, a gunshot was heard. Infinity let out a loud sob. "What if he's dead? I could have saved him. You should have let me stay. I could have saved him." She cried. When I looked at Naren, her eyes were watery too. She closed her eyes and leaned further back into the seat.

 

We traveled to a tiny village an hour away from the city where one of grandfather's traveling buddies put us up in his rental cottage. It was a tight squeeze for all of us, but we managed. Grandpa and Emee had their own room, and Naren and Infinity shared a room, which left me out on the couch but I didn't mind. It was no different than the place we had been living before. The roles had not changed either. Grandpa sent Naren and Infinity to the store to get supplies, Emee cleaned up the house and grandpa and I chopped wood.

"I have a secret to tell you." He told me as I worked. "I'm only telling you because you are capable of protecting your mind from being read. You cannot tell Infinity or the whole plan will be ruined."

"Then why tell me?" I asked.

"Because I am taking my daughter and wife and leaving to go far away very soon. I will have to leave you both here. You'll have to go back to the city."

"What?" I was confused. "But Infinity knows everything, and if they know that she knows everything, then they'll kill her. And they'll probably want to come after me."

"Please… just listen to me before you get angry." Grandpa's features softened and I nodded. "Lyell and Amy aren't on the sea. I will not tell you where they are or what they are doing, but they are not on the sea. I will be going in their place and I will bring Meng and Naren with me. They will not go on the sea with me, but you cannot go because you are needed here. You and Infinity need to stick together. I know you can keep her safe. Your father has found a very dangerous man by the name or Grimwald. He can bend the oceans to his will and has been tasked to find the boat that Infinity's parents are supposedly on and he will kill them. There is more to this plan that you will find out later, but it is important that they think Lyell and Amy are far away, on that boat."

"Grimwald." I had known that name. "Great Grandfather had asked a favor of a man named Grimwald over a year ago, before Charlie was a person of interest anyway or else maybe he could have stopped it." I sat down. "All I know as it had to do with a man by the name of Ailwyn Llewellyn."

"Ailwyn Llewellyn?" Grandpa's eyes widened with surprise. He looked like he had figured out some great mystery that had been bugging him for a while. "How much did you know about Infinity prior to meeting her?"

"Close to nothing." I admitted. "I knew that the Bone family had once had another child but she had been put up for adoption and taken to the states. They just told me who she was when she came back."

"When Infinity was adopted, she was adopted by her mother's sister and her husband. I had been there that day and I tried to talk him out of it. I didn't like the look in that woman's eye. She had the look of someone with ulterior motives. She didn't even want to give the baby her married name, she seemed so disgusted with it. I told him that if he really wanted to get rid of her, that I would take her. Lyell was like a son to me, a better son than your ungrateful father ever was. I would have done anything for him but he told me that if Amy's sister took the baby, it would put her mind at rest and they could see her any time they wanted. They didn't want to stop me from traveling." He looked down at the floor. "Infinity's adopted father was Dr. Ailwyn Llewellyn, a marine biologist."

"…Grimwald killed Infinity's adopted father. But why would they have ordered it? No one knew Infinity would be endowed until Eustacia told them." I was confused. "I knew that Infinity's aunt had been bribed into adopting her by Mrs. Tilpin. She had nothing to do with my family at that time. She knew nothing of them and we knew nothing of her. How did they know where Infinity was and who she was with? I was told that Grizelda wasn't present the day of Infinity's birth. I don't think she even knew Lyell and Amy were together and that she was pregnant until after Infinity was adopted, so how could they have even known who adopted her?" I stopped and thought about it. "Eustacia must have had her premonition long before she admitted it. They knew she was going to be a witch, and a very powerful one. They killed off Ailwyn, the only person who actually cared about Infinity, and bribed that awful aunt of hers into bringing her back and leaving her here. I bet that woman was elated. She was given money to adopt Infinity, and then was given more money to just give her away again." I sat my axe down and sat down on the chopping log. "I don't think Manfred knew much of their plan either. He almost killed her last year and I don't think I had ever seen my father so angry. I think they wanted her to bring Borlath back to life if they couldn't succeed, but she proved to be too difficult to control. That's why Ezekiel wanted to try and siphon her powers. He used the shriveling shroud on her…" I shuddered. "I can't even stand to think what could have happened if I didn't have the endowment that I do."

My endowment hadn't completely come back, but it was getting there. It felt like I was discovering it all over again. I couldn't read the thoughts of people unless they were standing near me, but I was definitely able to communicate again. I still had my photographic memory and I was able to still see and alter the memories of people who were near me. I had tested it on a few strangers since I had been healed. "You'll return to full power again." Grandpa put his hand on my shoulder. "You just have to keep working at it."

I went to speak to him again, but I was interrupted by yelling. I stood up as quickly as I could and scanned the area. Naren and Infinity were running towards the cottage with their baskets and bags. For the first time since she had heard the gunshot, Infinity was smiling. "Bart, something wonderful is happening. Asa is alive!"

"What?" Grandpa grabbed her shoulders. "Did you see someone?! You didn't tell them where we live, did you?! Were you followed?"

"Uncle Paton sent my neighbors, the Browns, to find you. He needs your help to rescue Asa. I told them not to follow me. They're waiting at the pub and need to speak to you. They haven't told me everything, but they did tell me Asa is alive and that Charlie is going to rescue him Monday night." She was giddy and excited. I knew she missed Asa and that he had done a lot for her, but a pang of jealousy still tore through me.

_I am assuming that we will be leaving town Monday night. Tell her you both will be returning to the academy with Charlie that night. I will go speak with who Paton has sent._ Grandpa's instructions were clear. I knew Infinity wouldn't be happy to know that we would be returning to the academy. I wondered if I could bargain with her and ask her to allow me to have her forget what I had told her about the deed of Bloor's Academy. I decided against telling her that Lord Grimwald was responsible for Ailwyn's death, and decided to inform her of our new plan.


	26. Rescue

Chapter 26: Rescue

Infinity

The gunshot that I had heard the night we fled the city was the fatal shot that killed Asa's father. I was told that his mother was okay and was staying at the Pet's Café and we would be picking her up before we went to wait at the North Side of the bridge for Charlie and Asa. I was told that there was an old tunnel that lead out of the academy and Asa had been hidden deep within and the tunnel had been closed off so he couldn't escape. Salem had not even known about that tunnel. It was only accessible through the drama department basement and he had avoided that area like the plague because Manfred had once told him it was haunted. He also had a fear of being locked down there because it was only accessible via trap-door.

I had also been told that we would be helping Aunt Venetia's husband escape the city with is daughter. Arthur Shellhorn had two children, but his other had turned evil with Venetia's influence so he wanted to make the decision to take his daughter and run. I had been told that the boy was endowed and able to make stone creatures come to life.

The most disturbing thing that I had been told was that Manfred's face had been completely healed and he could talk again. Someone was as strong as I was and was able to heal people. They were not able heal them as well as I could, for Manfred still had a limp and a few other problems, but I was not the only one capable of healing people anymore. I wondered who this mystery healer was and I wondered what they had done to fix Manfred's face. I would have to ask Charlie about it when I saw him.

Salem and I had gotten out of the van and stared at the end of the bridge. I could see three figures emerging from it. "Hey, there they are." I nodded in their direction. I couldn't see them very well, but I could see a very tiny white light that couldn't have been anything other than Claerwyn.

"Something isn't right." Salem murmured. I thought he was acting weird until I heard something that sounded like thundering hooves in the distance. Across the bridge, I beheld the most awesome sight. On the back of a beautiful white mare sat a knight that looked like he had popped right out of a fairytale. He wore a beautiful red cloak that almost seemed to glow and carried a magnificent sword with a gold hilt. "What in the world? That's the Red King's cloak… I can hear Charlie's thoughts. He's terrified. He thinks this knight will kill him." Salem murmured. I wasn't scared for Charlie because the aura I got from this distant knight was a beautiful one. He had a pure and powerful heart.

Then, the feeling in the air shifted as I heard more thundering hooves. I couldn't believe my eyes as a stone horse came tearing through the bushes with a stone knight on its back. "Venetia's around here somewhere with that boy." I looked around but saw no one. I turned my direction back to the two knights. I wish I could have been closer to what was sure to be the most magnificent battle of the ages. I could hear the sound of lance hitting sword and the screams of the horses, but I couldn't make out other details. I was only able to follow the Red Knight because his sword and his cloak shined so brightly.

I was relieved when I heard the sound of crumbling stone. The Red Knight had defeated his adversary. "Come on." Salem tugged my hand to get me to go towards the bridge.

"Wait, I want to say goodbye to Asa before he leaves." I stayed rooted to my spot and patiently waited for a figure to cross the bridge. Asa Pike stood on two legs, proud and tall as he walked towards the van. He was soaked from head to toe and wearing old academy clothes, but he was still the same Asa from six weeks ago. He approached us calmly.

"Your mother is waiting for you in the van." Salem gave him a small smirk. "Good luck. I'll see you on the other side of the bridge, Fin." He clapped his hand on Asa's shoulder and walked away from us. He murmured something to Asa that I couldn't hear as he walked by and Asa nodded.

When Salem was out of earshot I asked him what had been said, and he laughed a bit. "He told me to remember my place, but he doesn't have to worry about me at all. I can't believe I'm finally getting away from this God Awful city." He seemed so happy and relieved. I wondered if he knew about his father, but I didn't want to be the one to tell him. "I would hug you, but I'm covered in mud and water. They tried to drown us down there."

"Oh, I don't care about that." I threw my arms around Asa and hugged him tight. "I'm going to miss you. Please come back someday if you remember me."

He wrapped his arms around me too. He was shivering and trembling under his coat. "I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to. I have faith that you'll throw those god awful Bloors out of power, and then I'll come back."

We released each other and Asa went to go his separate way. "Wait-" I reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked back at me with sad eyes. "I want to give you something."

The air between us glowed and his cold hand became warm in mine. I closed my eyes and hoped that I was strong enough to give him this final gift. I felt my energy drain from my body and go into Asa's. When I was done, I felt tired and weak. Everything faded out and became black.

 

My head was pounding and my body was sore when I regained consciousness the next morning. As I looked around, I saw that I was back in my private room at the academy. I could feel the hard mattress under my back. I reached over and turned on the light and was surprised to see that my school trunk was there with all of my clothes. I walked over to it and opened it, even more surprised to see a note from Maisie and another envelope laying on top of my neatly folded clothes. _Your uncle drove these to the academy this morning for Cook to bring in. In the envelope is a postcard for you and Charlie. Bring Salem home with you this weekend. Love, Maisie._ I smiled at Maisie's neat handwriting and quickly pulled on my clothes. I looked at the clock on my bedside stand and if I hurried, I wouldn't be late for breakfast. I hoped Salem would be there too. I tucked the envelope into my cape and ran out the door. I accidentally hit someone with my door when I opened it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't understand why my door is the only one who opens outwards." I found myself saying as I closed the door to help whoever I had hit. Dorcas Loom sat in a fuming heap on the floor. "Hmph. On the other hand, I am not sorry." I chuckled at her and began to walk away.

"You think you're so great." Dorcas yelled after me. "I can do what you can do, Infinity Bone. You're not special anymore."

I turned around and looked at Dorcas as she pulled herself up. She must have been the one who fixed Manfred's face. This made be breathe a sigh of relief. She would be useless without her little bewitching tools and sewing needles and she could barely pick herself up off of the floor. I could hardly call her a worthy adversary. I laughed at her again and continued to walk away.

People stared when I walked towards the blue cafeteria for breakfast. I hadn't been there the week before, nor had I been there yesterday. I knew they were wondering why I had just showed up. I ignored their whispers and jumped into line behind Gabriel Silk. "Do I smell eggs? I don't think they've ever served eggs here, at least not since I've attended." I asked, making friendly conversation.

"Infinity? Where have you been?" Gabriel swung around to look at me. He had a big grin on his usually sad face. "You don't really have to tell me, but I sure am glad that you're back."

We made small conversation while getting our breakfast and headed over to the table that Charlie, Billy and Fidelio were already sitting at. Billy quickly got up to move so that I could sit next to Charlie. He hugged me as soon as he sat down. "Everyone was worried sick about you! Why did you run off like that?"

I felt guilty, but I was needed where I was at. "Naren came and got me." I admitted. "Salem got really sick again. His cancer came back and it was aggressive. When I got to him, the doctors all said that he only had a few weeks to live because it was right in his brain, a huge tumor causing too much pressure and he refused chemotherapy. So I healed him and I was asked to stay a bit." I fudged the truth a little. I couldn't tell Charlie what I knew. "It took a lot for me to heal him. That's why I must have passed out whenever I was trying to help Asa… How did I even get in here?"

"Me." Salem's voice was so loud, cheerful and sudden that I knocked over a glass of juice. "Jesus, you're clumsy. But it's probably for the best that you don't eat your whole breakfast. You're a lot heavier than you were when we met." He pinched my side and pulled up a chair to sit between Fidelio and Gabriel.

"What?" I frowned and looked down at myself. Salem was right. My clothes had gotten a lot more snug than they had been when I first started attending the academy.

"Oh, don't get self-conscious. It just means you're happier and eating better. I'm teasing you. Though I did just get over having cancer and that was a lot of work carrying-"

"Claerwyn got you back to your room." Charlie interrupted as he rolled his eyes. "There was no way that we would have been able to carry you up that rusty old ladder without someone falling to their deaths."

"…so your moth can teleport things? Color me impressed. You're definitely more powerful than I am, Charlie." I smiled at my brother and reached into my cape to pull out an envelope. "Maisie sent this with my things. We got a postcard from mom and dad. Do you want to open it? She must have put it in here so we could open it together."

Charlie nodded and took the envelope from my hands. When he opened it, he opened it letter side up. "Having a good time. Wish you were here. Love, mom and dad." He read out loud. When he flipped it over, there was a picture of a whale swimming with a school of glittery fish. I had gotten postcards like this all the time from my adopted father. It was a bittersweet memory.

I didn't want to think about it anymore so I changed the subject. "So what happened last night? I didn't get to hear about any of the details or the action. I swear I'm unconscious, enchanted or comatose every single time something interesting happens."

"Now that you mention it, that is pretty true." Gabriel snorted. "But what happened Charlie? I'm out of the loop too."

"It was amazing." Charlie said. He began to tell us about what had transpired the night before. He talked about climbing down into the pit that was in the drama department basement to an open cave-like area that Asa was kept in. When they got to where Asa was, he was a beast that had forgotten everything and Billy had spoken with him.

"I didn't think I could do it after what happened, but I managed to get my endowment back." Billy chimed in. I was confused and asked him what happened. "I had something called the "shriveling shroud" thrown on me. It nearly took away my endowment so I wouldn't be able to speak with Asa or any other animals."

"The Shriveling Shroud?" Salem looked over at me and then back at Billy. "Was it like a gray blanket?"

"Exactly that." Billy nodded his head. "Do you know of it?"

Salem nodded and looked over at me. _**Do you remember when you were kidnapped and trapped in my great grandfather's attic because he wanted to take your magic for himself? That blanket that he had thrown on you to hold you down was that Shriveling Shroud. Your Aunt Venetia and Dorcas made it together. Dorcas must have perfected it and made it stronger.**_ "Infinity and I have seen it before, but please continue." Salem insisted.

Charlie continued to describe trying to talk Asa down and how Claerwen's light had been enough to turn Asa back into a human and how she was able to move the rock that was blocking out the part of the cavern that lead to the tunnel out of the academy. They were walking through the tunnel when it started to fill up with water. They would have drowned if it had not been for Tancred. He managed to stop Dagbert Endless before the water could make it over Billy's head. He talked about the fight between the Red Knight and the Stone Knight. And skipped ahead to the part where Claerwen had to somehow teleport my body back to the academy. Salem went back through the tunnel with Charlie and Billy. Things went smoothly until they got back into the drama department basement and tried to climb through the trap door. They realized it had been locked. Claerwen had been with me so they would have been trapped down there if it hadn't been for Lysander. He caught Manfred just as he had closed the padlock. With the power of his awesome ancestors, Lysander intimidated him into giving him the key and his ancestors locked him in a basket until the morning. Both Dagbert and Manfred had been traumatized.

"I'm probably going to lose my scholarship." I murmured. It seemed like a trivial thing to be upset about in the moment, but it was something that was important to me. "Dr. Bloor has been threatening to take my scholarship away and give it to Riley Burns. The only hold I had over him was telling him that because I had saved Manfred's life, I was able to reverse all of my magic and take it away. That it would kill him instantly. I'm afraid they'll call me on my bluff now."

Salem laughed loudly, and tugged on my arm. "I doubt he'll take it away. Come on. Let's go speak to my father. I highly doubt they've realized I'm back yet. No one was around when I came out of my room this morning."

I couldn't believe Salem was still his normal happy self, especially with everything that was going on. Although everyone was safe for now, I knew something terrible was going to happen soon. The other side was getting more powerful. They had a witch capable of bringing people from the past, they had Dagbert Endless with a particularly deadly endowment and Manfred with his new and developing endowment. I was dreading the trip to Dr. Bloor's study. I knew he would be beyond angry and would take his anger out on us. I was still weak from all of the energy I had given to Asa and Salem and didn't know if I could handle being screamed at and berated. But Salem was still unfazed. He truly believed that they wouldn't disown him no matter how unruly he got, that they would let his neutrality be a viable option. Even I was starting to get sick of his neutral stance. Things were going to get serious. He needed to pick a side. And if I felt that way, there's no doubt that the Bloors felt that way as well.

We stood at the big oak doors of the headmaster's study. I wondered if Salem would knock or if he would just walk in as if he had never left, as if he hadn't been gone for months. He chose the former and knocked. His normally confident smile faltered and I realized that he was just as scared and nervous as I was. "Go away." Dr. Bloor's loud voice commanded from the other side of the door. He sounded angry. No surprise there. Salem ignored him and opened the door anyway, where we caught Dr. Bloor in a very vulnerable position. He was sitting behind his desk, his shoulders sagging and his forehead propped up against his hands. His hair was disheveled and he was looking at a picture frame, one that I had never noticed before. Dr. Bloor jumped and bumped his desk, causing the frame fell face up. This cracked the glass in the process. From where I stood, I noticed that it was a Bloor family portrait before he threw the broken frame into his desk drawer. I wasn't able to study it long but I could see that Manfred and Salem were still toddlers and Mrs. Bloor was present.

I wondered if this was the life Dr. Bloor had wanted for himself. I didn't think Harold Bloor was inherently mean and cruel. I couldn't help but to think Bartholomew was to blame for how he turned out. Dr. Bloor had the same childhood I did. Two parents too busy with their own lives to focus on their child, but instead of leaving him to raise himself like my parents did to me, Ezekiel stepped in. Ezekiel, possibly the cruelest Bloor to ever live. Ezekiel, who had stepped in and had a hand in raising Manfred, but not Salem. I wondered if he wanted to have a normal family. I knew Manfred was too deep in dark magic to save, but I wondered if unendowed Harold would have a chance if he ever got away from this place. He may not have loved his wife, but I had no doubt that he still loved both of his sons and it was hard for him to see what they went though.

"I've been dreading this day for years." Dr. Bloor finally spoke. He sounded tired. He didn't seem to see me. His eyes were only on Salem who looked solemn and ready for whatever was going to happen. "You are my son and I will always love you. But you have to make a choice. You can't have us and Infinity. You can't be neutral anymore. I couldn't do it anymore, Paton Yewbeam couldn't do it anymore, and you can't do it forever either. Everyone else had to pick their allies and now it's your turn." I hadn't been expecting this to happen now. I had been expecting him to yell at us, at him for going missing for almost two months, at me for just existing.

"I understand." Salem held his head high. "My whole life, I thought that everything you did was wrong, but I could never bring myself to fully betray you or Manfred. Although we did not get along, I loved you both and still do. I, however, detest Ezekiel. I think he is a sadistic and cruel man and I refuse to ever fall under his influence like you did. I pick Infinity."

"I figured you would." Dr. Bloor said calmly. "I think you understand what that means. That you are no longer welcome under my roof but you may continue to be a student here until you graduate, which I will still let you do this year despite your two month disappearance. Your name will be struck from the Bloor family tree, you will inherit nothing, your portrait will be removed and you will no longer be considered my son. If you forfeit any information against us, Manfred will make sure that both Charlie and Infinity suffer." He gripped the edge of the desk. "I'm sorry, Salem." He lowered his voice. "I have to."

Salem turned away from him, his eyes wet with tears. "Goodbye, dad."

"Goodbye, son." Dr. Bloor's head drooped. I believed he was just as upset. I snuck out of the room with Salem once their conversation was over. I would have actually preferred him yelling at me to what had just happened. I felt awful. I wished our lives didn't have to be this way. Families fighting families. Why did we even have to be involved in any of this anymore? Wasn't it enough that we found my dad? Why couldn't we just put our heads down? Why couldn't we just run, leave this city and all of the awful things that happened in it? Most of the people involved were still young children who didn't need any of this to be happening in their life.

I wished my father was home so I could talk to him, or that I was at least home so I could talk to Uncle Paton. "Don't be selfish." Salem said finally, ripping me from my thoughts. "You used to know why we were doing this, why staying here was important. I had to erase your memory to protect you. And now I can't tell anyone what I know because they'll kill you. This is up to you and Charlie to figure out. And I'll help you along the way the best that I can."

"I'm tired of fighting." I said. "I don't want to risk my life anymore. If we leave this city, what does it matter that the Bloors have control of everything?"

"Are you stupid? This isn't even about the Bloor family anymore. They're bringing people from the past with hope of finding the means to bring back Borlath. If they bring back Borlath and manage to bring back the Count again, everyone is completely screwed. They'll enslave the unendowed and take over the hierarchy. The bad endowed will have power and the good endowed will be turned by Harken or anyone else with powers similar to his or mine. And the people that can't be influenced like Charlie or myself will be killed. And if you think we can run far enough that they won't find us, you're even more stupid. Would you really want to betray the Red King like that after all he's done for you? This isn't just about your family anymore. You're always thinking that I need to grow up, but maybe you're the one who needs to grow up." He shook his head and walked away from me, towards the living quarters of the Bloor Family. He was kicked out of them. He would have to live in the dorms like everyone else. He would need somewhere to live on the weekends.

I turned in the other direction and sighed. Salem was right. I was being selfish to think that this was all just about my father. Of course there was a reason he was meddling in all of this. I started to walk down the hall lost in my own thoughts. What was my father trying to remember? What did the box inlaid with mother of pearl contain that the Bloors were willing to kill for? What did I know that I couldn't remember?

I walked straight into someone and it took me by surprise. I looked up and saw Manfred. He definitely looked like someone who had been terrified by Lysander's spectral ancestors and was locked in a basket all night. And seeing me just made his mood worse. I tried to walk around him without saying a word but he grabbed me by my arm and flung me against the wall before I could react. He grabbed me by my throat and kept me pinned against the wall, his hands just hot enough that they warned me not to move. He had the advantage. He would kill me if I didn't listen to what he had to say. "Look at me." He snarled. I knew it was unwise but I had to obey. I looked up into the dancing coals of his eyes. The sparkle had returned. He was doing this to prove something, to show me that I didn't have power over him anymore. "Are you capable of undoing your healing magic?" He asked me.

"N-no." The answer forced itself out of my lips. "I have no power over your life."

"Do you know where the mother of pearl inlaid box is?"

"No." I said again. He was forcing me to tell the truth. He had me hypnotized but it felt different than it used to.

"Do you know what is in the box?"

"No."

"Have you ever known?"

"Yes…" This was the answer that would get Salem in trouble.

"Who told you?"

"S…" I was trying to fight answering him. I tried to break eye contact. He grabbed my throat harder. "Salem!" I yelled out, loud enough that he could hopefully hear me. I brought my hands up to grab onto his arms but he sent another shock of burning pain through his hands.

"Where is Salem?"

"He's here… In the academy." I could feel the tears running down my eyes. I was having a hard time breathing. I needed to get away.

"Where was he? Who was he with?"

It was important that I lie. I needed to gather all of my strength to lie to him. "Paton's father." I squeaked out, hoping this wouldn't get him in any trouble. At least if he asked me where he lived, it wouldn't be a lie if I told him I didn't know. And if he asked Charlie, Charlie would be able to mentally block him.

"YOU'RE LYING." He yelled, yanking me back from the wall and slamming me into it again. Salem wasn't coming. No one was coming. I was going to get even more hurt than I already was. I thrust myself to my right, causing him to lose his grip on me. It tore my shirt in the process. He tried to grab my cape but I had it tied loosely enough that with one pull of a string, I untied it.

I needed to defend myself. I contemplated using dark magic, but I remembered something Paton had told me. I focused all of my energy to my right hand, which was clenched into a fist. A beam of light shot from my clenched hand, and a dagger made of pure energy and light appeared in my hand. Paton had told me that practicing only good magic would pay off. I would be able to make my own weapons to protect myself. I brought it up and sliced Manfred's cheek. He let out a yelp of pain and pulled away from me. He charged at me again, knowing that I was in shock and that I wouldn't be able to react in time. I closed my eyes and heard a dull thud. The sound of a body crashing into a force field and onto the floor. I opened my eyes. A bubble of golden light surrounded me. My dagger was gone. And with my energy depleted, my force field began to flicker and was gone too.


	27. Drained

Chapter 27: Drained

My energy still had not returned completely since giving Asa his gift and removing Salem's tumor. I didn't have the energy to fight Manfred off anymore. I had to run. I tried to take off in a sprint but he grabbed my ankle and I fell to the floor as it burned. I screamed and could see little black dots in the corner of my vision from the pain. "Why is it always me?" I yelled back at him, trying to kick my ankle free. "What makes you want to hurt me all the time?"

"You openly defy me. Your brother doesn't even do that. You show me no respect and you need to be punished." He snarled back at me.

"You're beating up a girl because she hurt your ego?" I couldn't stifle my laughter. I knew it would just make him angrier but I couldn't help it. It was pathetic. "Go ahead, do your worst. I can't help but to laugh at you, and I'm sure your manly pride is on the line if you don't kick the shit out of me again."

To my surprise, he didn't hit me. He sat up and offered me his hand. I wondered if it was a trap but I knew I didn't have the energy to sit up on my own so I took it. It wasn't a trick. He helped me lean against the wall and we sat next to each other, staring at the wall across from us. "It's not just that. I can't control my temper. I shouldn't have hurt you." He finally spoke. "Come on, I'll help you to the infirmary." He put my arm around his shoulder and struggled to pull up my dead weight. My legs didn't seem to want to work. "Can you walk?" He asked as he steadied me. I tried to take a step and almost collapsed on the floor. "What have you been doing? I find it hard to believe a force field and a dagger drained all of your energy. Here, get on my back. I'll get your cape later."

"I was busy curing cancer, Salem's mostly. And I'm wearing a skirt, Manfred. I'm not getting on your back." I stared at him. He just shrugged and put one hand behind my back and managed to lift me with his other hand behind my knees. I shrieked and he didn't seem to care.

"It would be a lot easier on me if you shifted your weight towards me and held on. You're a lot heavier than you were last year." He pointed out. I found my face getting red. I knew I was gaining weight but I was getting tired of everyone pointing it out. Manfred's face turned red too. "I'm not calling you fat." He murmured. I looked at the gash on his face. He was still bleeding a little bit but he wouldn't need stitches. I had only done enough to stun him and surprise him. "I'm sorry I hurt you. You just made me angry when you lied to me. I thought I had you under deep enough that you wouldn't be able to lie. It's frustrating when you lose your powers, and it takes a lot of energy to try and get them back. Especially with what I've been doing."

"How could you tell I was lying?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I could feel myself losing control." He looked down at me and everything felt awkward. Salem should have been the one doing this for me, yet he was nowhere to be found. "And when I start to lose control of a situation, I fly into a rage. It's what happened to my mother, when I slammed her fingers in the door." He stopped for a moment and shifted my body a little bit. "So that's what happened to Salem? His cancer came back and you got rid of it? Was it aggresive?"

"Yeah, he would have died within a week or so I didn't find him. He had hospice care and outwardly refused treatment and was waiting to die. It took more energy than I thought possible to save him." I informed him. We didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes but I could tell that my weight was starting to become a burden on him. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk though. My body was too exhausted. I was having a hard enough time focusing on what he had been saying to me and keeping my eyes open. I was lethargic and beginning to become dead weight. I could feel myself losing consciousness.

"Hey, stay with me." I heard him say. His voice sounded distant, but I couldn't stay awake.

 

Everything was hazy and distant when I finally opened my eyes. My head was pounding and there were no lights on other than the dim one next to my bed. I sat up and looked around. The beds next to me were all empty and the sun was no longer shining. When I looked down at myself, I was no longer wearing my damaged uniform, I had on my own pajamas. The thought of someone changing me made me feel sick. I tried to stand up, but I felt dizzy and nauseated. "Hello?" I called out. I could hear the creak of someone getting up out of a chair and the soft footsteps of someone turning the corner. It was one of the infirmary nurses. She was a nice woman, about as old as my mother with long black hair that she kept in a bun. She had caring brown eyes and a soft smile. She had given me cough medicine a few times when I had fallen ill and was sent here.

"You're awake. Don't try to move too much. It has been two days. You were very fatigued when Mr. Bloor brought you here. You also had two burn wounds that I put bacitracin and gauze on. One around your throat and one around your ankle. When I checked your wounds this morning, they were gone. …I'm not allowed to ask questions. But it was Manfred, wasn't it? That did this to you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not worried about it. You don't have to feel bad about not telling my grandma or my uncle about it." I rubbed the back of my head. My hair was greasy. "Who changed my clothes?"

"I did… I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't move. The rest of your uniform was sent back to your room. Your shirt wasn't salvageable."

"I'll buy a new one." I tried to stand up again, but I wasn't able to. "Do you have anything for me to eat?"

"Of course I do! I had a feeling you would be waking up soon!" The familiar voice of Cook walking into the infirmary made me smile. The smell of potato soup filled my nose and made me salivate. I was so hungry. "I can handle her from here, Mary." Cook said gently but with enough authority that nurse Mary didn't stay behind. Cook prepared a tray for me of soup with bread. "You haven't eaten in a few days. Anything heavier than this will give you a stomachache." She sat the tray on my lap and I began to devour it immediately. "Manfred Bloor had quite a gash on his face. He managed to make it disappear by the time I saw him again at dinner. It's nice to see that you have learned to fight back. Though I can't help but to wonder if Salem's departure from the West Wing had anything to do with your scuffle."

"No, I just made Manfred mad over something unrelated." I said through bites of soup. "How is Salem acclimating to being part of the common rabble?"

"He doesn't seem to mind. He's acting as childish as usual. Dr. Bloor has seemed a bit angrier though." Cook smoothed out her apron and let out a loud sigh. "I really wish that boy would take things more seriously. He has floated through life without any trouble and that was okay for him. But him picking a side really means he finally has to grow up."

"I think Salem will be fine. He just needs a few days to adjust himself." I said, trying to reassure her. I really did wonder how Salem would be settling into the uncomfortable dorms. Would he be allowed to keep his car? I'm sure they took the bottomless bank card he usually had away from him. I wondered what they let him keep and what they took away.

I finished my meal and Cook helped me stand to my feet. I felt a lot better than I had a few days ago. I knew I would still have to take it easy and not overexert myself trying to use magic. I was able to go back to my dorm that night and sleep in my regular bed. Because I had slept for two days straight, I wasn't able to fall back asleep that night. I caught up on some of my Literature homework by reading with my flashlight until the sun came up.

 

I made sure I was the first one in the shower when the sun came up and it gave me extra time to do something with myself. As I was curling my hair, I admired my face in the mirror. Ever since I discovered my power I could never get over the changes it had on my body. My hair had once been flat, straight and a dirty blonde color. Now it had volume and had lightened into a prettier white blonde. Although I had cut it all off while Salem and I were on the run, it was almost down to my lower back. My nails were healthier and stronger, my teeth felt stronger and looked whiter. Living in a cloudier place had gotten rid of my once tan skin but I didn't feel bothered because of all of my other changes. Everyone did however point out the weight I was gaining and I wasn't overly happy about that, even if I finally did get a chest to go with it.

I put on my uniform and my cape wondering how my day would be and if Salem was still upset with me. I checked myself in the mirror one more time before I left the room and headed down to breakfast. In the line, I was given oatmeal, toast and regular tea. Even though I hated academy oatmeal, I was so hungry that I didn't care. I was the first one there and sat down at my normal table in the blue cafeteria corner. I did some reading in my history book while I waited for the others to arrive. I didn't look up until I heard the sound of someone setting their stuff down next to me. I looked over and I was surprised to see Dagbert Endless, a boy that I had hardly spoken to and who had tried to drown my brother, Asa and Billy. "Go sit somewhere else." I said rudely, turning my eyes back to my book. The smell of fish filled my nose and it made me sad. Children often teased Dagbert for his smell because they found it unpleasant, but it was something I had been used to from when Ailwyn would take me on the boat with him when he was home.

"You're the head prefect, I need to talk to you." He said. "It's important."

"Fine." I sighed and put down my book. "What's wrong?"

"I had something stolen from me. Tancred Torsson has it." Dagbert looked down at his lap. "There's a curse in my family. When a boy in my family reaches his thirteenth year, he reaches his full power. Then he fights his father and the weaker one dies. I have no desire to try and kill my father right now, but I can't say the same for him. My mother was a mermaid and she made me some charms to protect me from my father and keep me safe. They are golden sea creatures made from the gold of drowned men's teeth."

I couldn't turn Dagbert away because I knew Dr. Bloor was waiting for an excuse to take away my position as head prefect. I opened my mouth to speak when someone spoke for me. "Fill out a report with me later, Dagbert Endless." Only one person spoke in that thick Irish brogue. "Leave Infinity alone, she has been sick the last few days."

Dagbert stood up and Riley Burns sat down next to me in his place. "Good morning, Bone." He said, flashing me a smile. "You look beautiful today, if you don't mind me saying."

"Thank you." I murmured. "For the Dagbert thing."

"I don't know what goes on with you endowed types, but I could tell that Dagbert isn't someone you wanted to be doing favors for." He took a bite out of his bagel and winked at me. Riley was cute in a lumberjack kind of way. He had sandy blonde hair and a beard to go with it. His hands were bigger than my face and he was big and bulky altogether. He had freckled skin and olive green eyes. "And I'm sure that whatever Torsson took, he did it for the greater good."

"I would stay under Dr. Bloor's radar if I were you. Or someone else might get that Oxford scholarship." I looked down into my oatmeal and frowned.

"Dr. Bloor has no control over who gets that scholarship. It's a third party that has nothing to do with Bloor's academy. Don't let him hold that over you. I don't know what else Dr. Bloor told you, but not just one person is limited to getting that full ride. We'll be seeing each other in Oxford next year. I can promise you that."

When you looked at Riley, you couldn't tell what a talented person he was at first glance. You didn't look at him and see "Riley the future doctor", or "Riley the cellist". All you saw was a big kid with a beard. Riley struck me as someone that you would see playing for the NFL, not an erudite. I wouldn't believe it if he wasn't my lab partner or if I had never heard him play the cello. "I really hope so." I said.

Riley and I sat in the corner of the cafeteria discussing our plans once we got into medical school. He wanted to be an oncologist, I wanted to be a pediatrician. It was nice talking to someone about my future for once rather than what was happening with the Bloors or what the endowed children were doing. I felt like a normal girl for once, finally talking to a normal person. "Are you just going to completely give up the cello?" I asked.

"I like music and yes, I was put here because of my talent with the cello, but who am I going to help in this world with a cello? No one." He laughed. "I'll still play music and it'll always be a part of me, but I won't do it for a living. I won't join a symphony. Or run off and play bass in a band."

I realized breakfast was almost over and Charlie, Salem and everyone else hadn't came and sat with me yet. When I scanned the room, I found them sitting somewhere else. Charlie and his friends were all talking about something, but Salem was looking at me. He wanted to talk to me. "Hey, I have to go do something really quick." I said, looking back at Riley.

"Say no more. I'll see you around." He winked at me again and we both laughed. Salem got up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria, a silent invitation to follow. I returned my dirty dishes to the kitchen and quickened my pace to catch up with him. He turned and walked into the prefects lounge, a place where he was no longer allowed, but it would be empty for the time being.

I walked in and shut the door behind me. Salem was leaning against once of the desks. I barely had time to shut the door behind me before he grabbed me and backed me against the wall. His fingers curled in my hair behind my ears and his lips were on mine in under ten seconds. His kiss was hungry and desperate. He pinned me harder against the wall, his hands traveling down my body and coming to a rest on my hips. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him back a bit. "You're going to get us in trouble." I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"I don't care." He growled.

"Seriously, knock it off." I said. "We have all weekend for that." I added, my face turning red. Then I punched him in the shoulder. "Where the hell were you the other day? I called for you. You can't tell me that you didn't hear me yell your name or hear my thoughts when I was being attacked by Manfred. Are we just going to act like I wasn't in the infirmary the last two days?"

"Wait, Manfred attacked you?" Salem seemed surprised, but there was no way he didn't know. "I asked Manfred what happened and he said that you had fainted. I thought it was from still being exhausted. When I saw you in the infirmary, you looked fine. The nurse said it was just fatigue."

"Have you not seen Manfred? He had a huge cut in his face. He ripped my shirt."

"Infinity, I honestly didn't know." Salem shook his head. "My powers still haven't completely come back so I haven't been trying to read thoughts too much. And Manfred didn't have any cuts on his face. Dorcas must have gotten to him. I didn't know where you were until I saw Manfred in the King's room that night. His face was fine and he told both Charlie and I that you had fainted earlier in the day and you were resting. When I went and saw you the next day you were covered up, but you were wearing pajamas."

"I yelled your name when it was happening. It was as soon as we left Dr. Bloor's study."

"I…" His face turned red. "I was really upset. I had music on when I was packing my stuff up so no one could hear me and in return, I didn't hear anyone else…" He had been crying but didn't want to admit it to me. "What did he come after you for this time?"

"He hypnotized me." I looked down at my feet. "He asked me a bunch of questions and I couldn't lie to him. But when he asked me where you had been hiding when you disappeared, I fought against him and it made him mad. We got into a scuffle and I learned something new about my powers. I can make weapons. I conjured a dagger and cut his face. Then we stopped fighting and I couldn't move. I was so tired. He carried me to the infirmary and I passed out again before we even got there."

"That bastard…" Salem shook his head and looked down at the floor. "There's not much I can say to him. I don't have special treatment anymore. I have to behave like a normal student if I want to graduate. I can't slack off anymore and I can't make any waves. I'm lucky they're still letting me graduate after being gone for almost two months. I just have to make up all of my work and pass all of my classes. It would be pretty embarrassing to get held back twice."

"It's not like you could help it." I pointed out. "I'll help you get caught up. It's no big deal. But I'm not going to do your work for you."

"What do you take me for? A total slacker?"

We just stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before laughing. Salem was a huge slacker. I hoped the severity of the situation would be enough to scare him into shape. I had faith in Salem. I adjusted my cape and we both got ready to head back to the cafeteria before everyone was dismissed when the door opened.

"What are you doing in here? You're not a prefect. And you, you know that non-prefects are not allowed in here." Manfred barked at us from his spot in the doorway. He didn't look as angry as usual. He looked more uncomfortable than anything.

Salem pulled a folder from what seemed like thin air and held it up. "I was explaining the classwork that she missed but the cafeteria was too loud." He placed the folder in my hands and I opened it up. It was mostly empty save for a few of Salem's make-up assignments that he had completed already. I hoped Manfred wouldn't call his bluff.

"Fine, but you both need to leave now." He rolled his eyes. I closed the folder and both Salem and I made a hasty exit.


	28. Salem: Birds and Bees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told in the POV of Salem

Chapter 28: Birds and Bees

Salem

At first, I thought staying with Infinity and her family would only be temporary. There wasn't much room, but we were met with a surprise when I drove us to Number Nine that Friday. Infinity had been moved out of the bedroom she shared with Charlie and up to the third floor where her mother's room had previously been. I was given Infinity's old bed. "Is Grandma Bone even going to allow this?" Infinity asked as she stood in the doorway of her former bedroom watching Charlie and I unpack.

"She has no choice, or else she'll have to deal with Paton." Maisie reassured us. "When you are all done unpacking, I would like to speak with you and Salem in the kitchen." I could only imagine what kind of awkward talk Maisie would force us to sit through. I had already heard all about the birds and the bees and I knew ground rules would be set, but Infinity was innocent and ignorant to many things and didn't seem uncomfortable or fazed at all. She didn't know what was coming. She just shrugged and went upstairs to look at her new room.

It didn't take me too long to unpack. I didn't bring much with me. My father was generous enough to allow me to keep my car and whatever I wanted out of my room, but there wasn't much I cared to hold onto. I kept my uniforms, two of my specially tailored suits, about half of my street clothes, my guitars, my laptop, my mother's ring and all of my shoes. I had just enough room to store all of my things neatly in my side of the bedroom.

"Make sure Grandma doesn't forget to call me down when lunch is done." Charlie said from his seat at his computer. He immersed himself in some online game I didn't recognize and I went downstairs where Infinity and Maisie were already standing at the counter side by side cutting and peeling potatoes.

"I don't know what kind of talks you have had with Lillian or even with your mother, or what you learned in school. I just felt that it would be good to talk about it now that you have a boyfriend and you are serious. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I can wait outside during your appointment tomorrow. I don't want to make the mistake with you that I did with Amy, hiding everything and not talking with her about birth control or sex. I figured if we didn't talk about it, she wouldn't do anything. But now we have you here."

"I already know where babies come from. I'm beyond proficient in biology, remember?" Infinity said in a mocking tone.

"It's more than what you learned in your biology books, dear. It's not just 'I know how to get pregnant, so I'll just avoid it'. Sometimes it's hard to stop things when you start them, and I want you to be protected and safe."

Infinity peeked over her shoulder and we made eye contact. Her face was already red, but it turned even redder when she looked at me. " _Maisie_." She grumbled under her breath.

"Oh!" She noticed me as well. "Are you all settled in?" She asked me, changing the subject.

"Yes I am." I smiled. It was nice to have somewhere that actually felt like home. I had always preferred being around Infinity's family since the day I met them, not including Grizelda Bone or her infernal sisters. "Do you need help with anything?"

"I believe we have it all under control, my dear. But I wanted to inform you of the house rules before Grizelda does in a very rude way." Maisie continued to cut potatoes as Infinity peeled. I bet that they did this together often. They seemed to be perfectly in sync with their movements. "I do laundry on Fridays. All of your uniforms go in the hamper in Charlie's room. I'll get them after dinner. And Monday before you go to school, make sure everything you wore over the weekend goes in the hamper as well. Everyone takes turns doing the dishes. Charlie does them on Friday, Infinity does them on Saturday and now you'll do them on Sunday. If Grizelda isn't home, you can do whatever you want. Usually we go out if she does come home because she doesn't allow the children to do anything fun without hassling them. Infinity, you're welcome to go into the boys' room but under no circumstance is Salem allowed in your room. Just… be respectful." She gave a soft smile and I knew this talk was as awkward for her as it was for us.

" _Maisie!_ " Infinity's eyes went wide with embarrassment. She looked like she wanted to sink through the floorboards. The redness from her face was traveling down to her neck.

"I know it's embarrassing to hear, but you have to hear it." Maisie chuckled. "Why don't you two go get your homework done? I'm sure you both have a lot to catch up on. Especially you, Salem."

"I'm all caught up already." Infinity said. "But I bet you're not." She looked at me. She was right. I wasn't caught up. Infinity was used to missing large chunks of school, so a few days of work didn't take her long to catch up on. We went upstairs to the bedroom that Charlie and I were now supposed to share. "Why didn't Billy come home with you this weekend?" Infinity asked as she sat down on Charlie's bed. Charlie was sitting at his desk working on his homework. He never got his done early like Infinity did. They were complete opposites when it came to school work.

"Lysander invited him to his house this week." Charlie answered. "He knew we would be a little crowded trying to fit Salem in."

When Charlie and Infinity were in close proximity to each other, it was easy to tell that they were siblings. Although their hair and eye colors were different, they had some similar facial features. It always blew my mind that neither of them knew that they were siblings sooner. "Charlie, you have to solve the problems in parenthesis fist, then multiply and divide, then add and subtract." She was watching his paper like a hawk. "All of those are wrong. You have to start over."

"What?" Charlie was confused.

"It's order of operations. Write down what I just told you. That's the only way you'll get the correct answer." She stood up and looked over his shoulder. I sat down on my own bed and started my homework as well. I had a lot to catch up on. I had at least caught up on my literature and grammar assignments. But I was behind on history, biology and trigonometry. History was no problem for me. Once I read something, I never forgot it. I had a hard time with science and math though. Zelda had always helped me with my math problems because she was a mathematical genius.

"Do you need help?" Infinity asked after an hour of me trying to power through biology homework. I hadn't even noticed that she had finished helping Charlie. All of his homework was done and in a neat pile on his desk. He was long gone. She was sitting in the swivel chair at the desk, spinning herself with one foot. Her other leg was tucked up underneath her.

She helped me for two hours, explaining things in an easier way for me to understand. Sometimes I had a harder time with things because of the impact my first brain tumor had on me. It never bothered Infinity that she occasionally had to explain things to me as if I were a child. She sat in that chair and explained things to me over and over again and never got frustrated with me.

Her whole family was like that, if you didn't count her awful great aunts and grandmother. When Grandma Bone was absent, there was no yelling, no one really argued other than sibling bickering between Infinity and Charlie occasionally, and everyone was patient and kind. They all had nothing but good thoughts about each other.

That night when everyone went to bed, I stared into the dark and listened to Charlie's light snoring. Everything was cheap and they couldn't afford very many luxuries, but I felt happier here. This wasn't a family that was ripped apart by money. This was a family that loved each other (for the most part) and would do anything for each other. I knew Infinity's family and had spent time with them before, but I felt like I was seeing everything differently now. I was living their lives with them, rather than seeing everything as a visitor. I wondered how much of a stink Grizelda would cause whenever she figured out I was here, or if she already had gotten a heads up that I had been disowned. My thoughts eventually put me to sleep.

 

I woke up to the sound of birds sitting on the chestnut tree branches that were outside my window. The sun was shining through the thin curtains and it hurt my eyes. I rolled over and stared at the wall beside me and tried to gather my surroundings. It took me a few minutes to remember where I was. I groaned and rolled back over again. My bladder was full. I had to piss so bad but I was afraid of running into Grizelda on the way to the bathroom. I wasn't sure if she ever came home.

I looked over at Charlie's bed. It was already empty and a mess. I hadn't even heard him wake up. I stood up, pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and walked to the bathroom. I was able to pee in peace and wash my hands. When I got downstairs, I was assaulted with the smell of breakfast. Infinity and Charlie were sitting at the kitchen table, both still in their pajamas. Infinity's hair looked like a rat's nest and she was wearing a big frumpy sweater with bleach stains on it and a pair of gray leggings. She had her head down and seemed to not be completely awake yet. Charlie's hair was a disaster as well, but he was bright eyed and bushy tailed.

"She'll never be a morning person, will she?" I joked as I took the seat next to Charlie.

"She started her lady thing." Charlie shrugged. "She always looks more like a monster when that happens."

"Shut up, Charlie." Her voice was muffled from her arms cradling her face. "Maisie, do I still have to go?" I assumed that Maisie had made an appointment for Infinity to see a gynecologist to talk about birth control and all of the things she knew nothing about.

"There's a gynecologist that takes patients on a Saturday?" This was a surprise to me.

"The women's clinic is open from 8 to 8 every day." Maisie informed me. "And yes, you still have to go."

"Don't even say that word." She peeked up at me. I could see that her face was red from embarrassment. "And stop looking at me."

"Stop snapping at everyone and eat your breakfast. We have to go soon." Maisie swatted at her lovingly.

I had been around Infinity while she was on her period before, but she seemed more pitiful than usual. I assumed it was because she still wasn't recovered from the large amounts of energy that she had created from healing me, helping Asa, and fighting off Manfred all in such a close proximity. Infinity ate her breakfast, went upstairs to get dressed and left with Maisie to go to the clinic. Charlie and I decided to go into the living room and watch TV until they came back.

Grizelda ended up coming back before Infinity and Maisie did. She stormed into the house and peeked into the living room where we were sitting. "Lazy lumps sitting and watching television all day." She growled. "I expect you to follow the rules while you're living here, you freeloader. You're lucky your father cares enough about you to not let you end up on the street. Though I don't appreciate him pushing you on me."

My father had asked her for the favor of letting me live here. He knew I would end up here and was trying to make things a little bit easier on me, although he had just disowned me. I was grateful that I didn't have to witness Grizelda fighting with everyone over me living here. She stormed up the stairs into her bedroom. "Your grandma is really nice." I said sarcastically. Charlie snorted and we went back to watching a very interesting documentary on how Tabasco sauce is made.

Infinity and Maisie came back about an hour and a half after they left. Poor Infinity had a thousand yard stare when she came and sat down next to me on the couch. "How was it?" I asked, expecting her to turn red and yell at me again.

"They didn't really do an exam because I'm still…you know." She awkwardly crossed her legs. "They just gave me pills and told me to take them at the same time every day. They talked to me about stuff. It was weird and uncomfortable but I'm happy Maisie made me go. I'm seventeen now and it's embarrassing how much I didn't know, outside of the actual biology spectrum."

"Generally home-schooled kids don't get to sit through Sex Ed. Bloor's Academy doesn't have a class either. So someone is probably going to have this awkward talk with Charlie sooner or later." I looked over at Charlie who was trying to block out our conversation. He was grimacing, so I assumed that he was failing at that endeavor.

"Dad will probably take care of that whenever he comes back." Infinity stood up from the couch and stretched. "I'm not feeling well so I'm going to take a nap."

"You can't just… will your pain away like you always do?" I asked.

Infinity laughed and shook her head. "Not a natural thing like this. I just have to let it run its course. I'll feel better tomorrow. I just have to take some Tylenol and sleep a little more." She walked out of the living room and I heard her climbing the stairs. This left Charlie and I alone, absorbing ourselves in the history of Tabasco sauce.


	29. Badlock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Facts about Infinity and Salem:
> 
> Infinity is a Ravenclaw and her patronus is a fox.  
> Salem is a Slytherin and his patronus is a great gray owl.
> 
> Infinity is an ISFJ-A  
> Salem is an ENFP-A
> 
> Infinity's birthday is August 24th, making her a Virgo.  
> Salem's (and Manfred's) birthday is December 19th, making him a Sagittarius.

Chapter 29: Badlock

Infinity

Having my boyfriend live with me was both a blessing and a curse. Most of the time, I was thrilled to have Salem in my company, but sometimes I wanted to be left alone. We went to a boarding school together where we were in the same department and shared a few classes, and then we went home together every weekend. Sometimes I needed some time to myself and today was one of those days. I decided that I was going to spend the day with Uncle Paton at Miss Ingledew's book store. I had some reading I wanted to do and Uncle Paton was quiet enough company. I was working on my own study on genetics and endowments. I was trying to figure out if it was a dominant or recessive trait, but I had no way to collect enough data. I could only make theories based on family trees.

"What are you working on, Infinity?" Uncle Paton broke the silence and looked up from his own work. "You've been scribbling away non-stop for the last two hours."

"A theory. I'm trying to figure out the gene for endowment, but to do that, I have to look into our ancestry and find out who is endowed and who is not. Salem gave me the Bloor Family Tree to look at." I ran my hand down the old weathered paper. "I only have their family tree. Back to Septimus Bloor and his wife. It doesn't say whether they are endowed or not. And their family tree doesn't branch out in any other direction. It doesn't tell me who Maybelle Bloor married. But Maybelle, Bertram and Beatrice were all endowed. Then it goes down Bertram's line. He married an unendowed woman, Donatella da Vinci. They had Gideon, who was unendowed and married Gundrun Solensson, who was also unendowed. From there, they had Mr. Ezekiel who had Bertram's endowment. He married Hilda Hansoff, who was unendowed. We know that Bartholomew was unendowed and so was his wife. Then Dr. Bloor is unendowed and so was Mrs. Bloor.

Two generations of no endowments, then they have twins who are endowed. The gene for identical twins wasn't even in their line! And it doesn't help that their endowments seem to be random. Beatrice was a witch, Bertram and Ezekiel were both magicians, Manfred is both pyrokenetic and a hypnotist, and Salem has mental awareness. I don't know if the gene for specific endowments is hereditary, or if the gene for endowments in general is hereditary. There has never been a study of this before." I was starting to become frustrated. I wished that I had ways to take DNA from the other children and study it. I was becoming fixated on figuring out how endowments were passed on. I was aware that the laws of magic didn't quite have a place in the world without spiritual interference, but there had to be some kind of science behind it.

"Well, let's have a look at the Yewbeam line." Uncle Paton said, grabbing a blank sheet of paper and a pen. He began to write as he talked. "I can't go back as far as the Bloors did, but I can try. Although Yorath and Yolanda were killed only recently, I can't go back too far. I'm still working on our lineage." I had been comatose for the death of Yolanda. She had been the shape-shifter that Asa had been attracted to. She went by "Belle Donner" and I was told that Paton had killed her by amping up the electricity on a sewing machine she had been touching, causing Aunt Venetia's house to burn down as well as successfully electrocuting Yolanda. I had the displeasure of being taught piano by Yorath but I had no hand in his death. I never completely found out what happened in that situation. Salem and I kept our heads down for it. "Yorath married Vera Kuragina. She was a hypnotist and Yorath was a shape-shifter. They had Manley and Yolanda. Yolanda was both a hypnotist and a shapeshifter, but she never married or had children.

Manley was unendowed, but he married Grace Bloor, they were my grandparents. They had three children. Henry was unendowed. He was the boy who Ezekiel sent forward in the future with the Time Twister just before you moved here. He's currently twelve years old, so he has no children, Daphne was clairvoyant, but she passed away from disease at eight years old. Then there was my father, James. He was unendowed and my mother was unendowed. She was killed by Yolanda. You then of course know about your awful aunts and grandmother, whom Yolanda raised. My father kept me away from them. Three of us were endowed, two were not. Clairvoyance ended up showing up again in Eustacia. My endowment and Venetia's endowment appear to be random. Your grandfather was unendowed, both of your parents were unendowed, and then both you and Charlie ended up with an endowment. Yours came from the Bloor side and Charlie's seems to be random."

This was making my head hurt more. "I need more of the family tree to go off of." I put my head down on the desk I was using.

We were interrupted by Miss Ingledew coming into the backroom. She looked exceptionally uncomfortable as she started to look through a shelf of thick, leather-bound books. She finally decided on one and rushed back out. She must have had an irritated customer. Uncle Paton was too busy looking at my notes to notice. I wondered what was going on, but it was none of my business.

"I'll keep piecing together our family tree, hopefully up to the Red King himself. That will help you, won't it?" Uncle Paton asked.

"A thousand years is a long line to trace. There's going to be a lot of overlap, especially with families that only marry other endowed. That means you're going to have to cover all of the King's children. It may also not be accurate. People have affairs and some are forgotten with the passing of time. Others are not documented at all."

"It'll be worth it." Uncle Paton grinned at me. "Infinity, you have something big going on here. I know you want to go to school for medicine, but you can't fix everyone. You'll kill yourself doing that. This is something you seem to enjoy doing and your best subject is biology. Have you thought of becoming a geneticist? You would have access to a lab and the freedom to do your own research."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my papers. "I never really thought about it."

I had more to say, but the sound of someone clearing their throat behind us was enough to make us both jump and turn around. Benjamin and Fidelio were standing behind us and they looked uneasy. Ben was on the verge of tears. I could see fear in his eyes. I wondered what they were doing here. Charlie wasn't with them and neither was Runner Bean.

"Emma and Olivia are at the Pet's Café." Uncle Paton said awkwardly. I could tell he was anxious to get back to looking at my research. He didn't like to be interrupted when he was in the back room of Miss Ingledew's store. He had only allowed me to come with him because he knew that I would be just as quiet and dedicated to my studies as he would be.

"We need you and Infinity." Fidelio said softly. I had never known him to speak so quietly. He seemed to be trying to keep his voice down, like he had a secret of some sort.

"We're a little busy." Uncle Paton frowned. He was eager to look through the notes I had so far, even if he didn't understand some of them to the extent that I did.

"It's urgent!" Benjamin blubbered. "Charlie and Runner Bean went into a painting and they won't come out."

Charlie going into a painting wasn't anything new, but taking someone with him was. I was confused as to how that worked. Charlie's endowment was a mental one, there was no way that Runner Bean could go into a painting as well. "Is it possible for dogs to be endowed, too?" I didn't realize how stupid my question was until I said it out loud. Uncle Paton slowly shifted his gaze towards me and I could have sworn that I physically watched the respect he had for me leave his body.

"No, they physically went inside. They vanished." Fidelio was starting to look flustered as he struggled to explain himself.

"Completely vanished?" Uncle Paton removed his reading glasses and stood to his feet. This did sound like an emergency. Charlie had never completely gone inside of a photograph or a painting.

"They're completely gone." Benjamin's tears started to fall. "There was this painting in your cellar and the nice grandma asked me to go down and help because Charlie disappeared. When Runner Bean and I went down to look, he ended up going in too!"

"What kind of painting was it?" I asked. I didn't know it was possible to be completely sucked into a painting. It must have been bewitched. I was struggling to follow all of this new information myself.

"It was horrible, Infinity." Ben howled. "There were dark towers and mountains. There was a name on it. I think it said Badlock."

"BADLOCK!?" Uncle Paton roared.

"What is it, Uncle P?" I asked.

"Badlock. It's the worst place in the world. Although I don't know if it ever was in our world. We need to go, now." He walked out of the room before I could even stand up from my chair.

"Wait, where is Salem?" I asked Ben. "Was he not there when all of this happened?"

"His car wasn't there when I went over." Ben was anxious to follow Paton. He wanted to get back to his dog.

We pushed the curtain aside and rushed out to the main store. To my surprise, the customer Miss Ingledew had gotten a book from the back room for was none other than Ezekiel Bloor. He was harassing Paton and giving him a hard time about his relationship with Miss Ingledew. I wouldn't have expected him to do anything else. However, upon seeing me he decided to direct his taunts my way. "Well, if it isn't the little harlot that bewitched my grandson." He smiled, showing his disgusting black teeth. I felt that if he gritted them too hard, they would shatter.

I refused to entertain him with a response. I decided to leave the bookstore and wait for Uncle Paton out there. I'm sure he wanted to make sure Miss Ingledew would be safe before leaving her at the mercy of the human skeleton.

I wanted to call Salem and let him know what was going on. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts. My mom had put me on my own plan shortly before she and dad left so I could always reach or be reached by Maisie if she needed me. Salem was also added to the plan whenever he moved in with us because he had his own car and Maisie didn't want him to be stranded on the off chance that it ever broke down when he was alone. Charlie would be added to the plan after his thirteenth birthday.

I dialed Salem's number and put the phone up to my ear. He answered after two rings. "Hey, what's up?"

"Where are you?" I asked. I sounded more annoyed than I should have. Salem didn't know what was going on and I knew my tone wouldn't be received well.

"I had an appointment to change the oil in my car. I'm heading home now. I wasn't aware that I had to tell you everything I was doing when you don't even have the courtesy to tell me where you're going." His voice was sour. I hadn't even considered that he would be upset if he woke up and found that I wasn't home.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just didn't think about it." I sighed. "There's an emergency at home. Can you please just meet me there? I don't completely understand what's going on so I can't even begin to explain it to you."

"Yeah. See you in five minutes." He hung up without another word.

I couldn't wait any longer for Uncle Paton, Benjamin and Fidelio to come out. I began to run home. It was a busy day and there were shoppers everywhere. It wasn't easy to dodge umbrellas and shopping bags. There were grumbles from several people I ran into but I didn't care enough to stop and apologize. If I kept up my pace, I would be able to meet Salem just as he got home.

This had to be some kind of scheme cooked up by the Bloors and my grandma. They knew that Charlie wouldn't be able to resist looking at a painting. It was probably some kind of cursed magical painting made for the express purpose of trapping Charlie within and never letting him go.

I began to run up Filbert Street just as I saw Salem park his car. He walked over to the front steps and waited for me to catch up. It had been weeks since I had fainted and I had gotten all of my energy back, but that run still took a lot out of me. He waited for me to catch my breath.

"So what's going on?" He asked.

"Benjamin said that Charlie and Runner Bean physically got trapped inside of some weird painting that my grandma left in the cellar." I said through deep breaths. "Uncle Paton's not too far behind us I hope, but he said the place in the painting was dangerous. It's called Badlock."

"Badlock?" Salem's eyes widened. "As in Count Harken Badlock?"

Count Harken Badlock, the crazy evil enchanter that Titania Tilpin had brought back from the past wasn't someone that I had thought about recently. He had bewitched my mother and me. "Oh my god, I didn't even think about that." I ran my hands down my face and quickly made my way into the house. Grandma Maisie was waiting next to the cellar door. She was anxious and sweaty.

"I told him not to go down there. He still hasn't come out. Where is your uncle?" Maisie groaned. "I believe this is beyond you two."

"He's somewhere behind us." I said. "Can I go down and look at the painting?"

"Please, just be careful." Maisie begged. "I don't want to have to tell your mother that I let both of her children get sucked into an evil painting."

I nodded and opened the cellar door. I flipped the light switch up and slowly made my way down the steps. By mid step, I could already see the large canvas. I rushed down and knelt in front of it. To my discomfort, I heard the howling of wind and rustling of trees and it seemed to be coming from inside the painting. I felt the wind blowing my hair back out of my face. Salem stood behind me with his hand on my shoulder.

Badlock didn't look like the place anyone would visit willingly. There were several swirling black clouds in the tangerine colored sky and creatures that looked like bats adorned the air. There were tall towers made with a black stone and all of the grass looked dry and dead. The wind blowing in my face smelled sour.

"What is that?" Salem asked, indicating to the bottom right corner next to one of the towers.

I squinted to get a better look but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was a big yellow dog with his face frozen in a howl standing in the corner. There was no way that it wasn't Runner Bean. "I think it's the dog."

We were suddenly enveloped in darkness and Salem let out a high pitched yelp. "It's okay, Infinity!" Uncle Paton's voice came from the top of the stairs. "I'm just turning out the lights."

Despite the grim circumstances, I chuckled. "That wasn't me, Uncle Paton." I couldn't see Salem in the dark, but I could tell that he was glaring at me. Despite his annoyance, he reached out for my hand and grasped it tightly.

The basement was gradually illuminated with the light of a candelabrum that Uncle Paton carried down with him. He had Benjamin in tow. "Uncle Paton, look." I directed their attention to Runner Bean's likeness in the painting before us.

Upon seeing his treasured dog become one with a bewitched painting, Benjamin screamed, somewhat loudly, right in Salem's ear. Salem already wasn't a fan of Benjamin. He told me he found him bothersome and pitiful, which was quite ill-mannered of him to say, especially about an eleven year old boy who barely got to see his parents.

"Is everyone okay down there?" Maisie called from the top of the stairs.

"Can I come down please?" begged a voice that belonged to none other than Olivia Vertigo. "I can't stand not knowing…" They must have picked her up along the way, which wasn't unusual. It was like Olivia had a radar and could sense when something dramatic and exciting was happening.

"Runner…" Benjamin moaned, cradling his face in his hands. "He's in the painting."

Olivia scrambled down the steps but came to an immediate halt when Grandma Bone screamed "RABBIT!" The colorful girl retreated back up the stairs and could be heard arguing with Grandma from the basement.

Uncle Paton's anger was visible and he wanted to give her a piece of his mind. He probably believed, like Maisie and I did, that this was all planned. Uncle Paton cleared the stairs in no less than three strides. I followed behind him, curious as to what she would admit.

"What is that painting doing in that cellar and where did it come from?" Paton demanded.

"None of your business." Said Grandma Bone. She was eying a basket that Olivia was holding. I presumed that it contained a rabbit.

"It is my business." Paton asserted. He was disregarded by Grandma Bone, who began to leave the room. We all followed as he trailed after her. "Are you listening to me, Grizelda? Your grandson disappeared into that painting."

The look of pure delight in Grandma Bone's face had my heart racing. "But…that's what he does."

I began to see red. My heart was pounding in my ears. I felt like I was losing control of myself and I heard a loud, angry yell rise from my throat. "Infinity, don't." Salem put his hand on my shoulder. "Calm down."

"Calm down? She did this on purpose!"

"Fin, you need to calm down. Look at your hands."

"What?" I brought my hands up to my face and inspected them. I had dug my nails so deep into them that my palms were beginning to bleed.

"Oh my," Maisie grabbed a hand towel that had been sitting in one of her clean laundry baskets and pressed it onto my hands. Uncle Paton and Grandma Bone began arguing again.

"Don't worry about it, Maisie. It'll heal itself." I pulled my hands back. My wounds had already stopped bleeding and were beginning to fade.

"Hey, Charlie's back!" Salem said over all of the commotion. When we turned to look, Charlie was standing at the top of the cellar stairs covered in sweat with disheveled clothes.

"Charlie! Have you got runner?" Benjamin cried out.

Charlie looked unsteady so I moved myself by his side to help him keep his balance. "There's a bit of a problem there, Ben." He said weakly.

"Charlie Bone, I hate you!" Benjamin's outburst had been so sudden and explosive than none of us knew how to react or what to say to diffuse the situation. I knew that he would be upset, but I didn't expect him to lash out the way he did. I could feel Charlie stiffen up. "You're always losing my dog! You almost let him drown that one time, and that other time with the enchanter-"

"Would you quit being such a sorry little shit? It's not as if Charlie did it on purpose." Salem snapped loudly. Salem didn't get angry often, but when he did, he got the results he wanted. Uncle Paton grabbed him by the back of his neck roughly and pushed him into the kitchen. Benjamin stood staring at us with a red face and tear filled eyes.

"I really did try, Ben. I had him with me, I was holding onto him when I traveled back." Charlie said miserably.

"You saw him? How come you came back and he didn't?" Ben began to get worked up again.

"Why don't we all go in the kitchen and talk about this?" I suggested. "I think everyone needs to calm down so we can fully understand what happened. Pointing blame at each other isn't going to solve a thing.

"Oh what a to-do!" Grandma Bone howled dramatically from the living room.

"You knew this was going to happen." I growled back. "You're despicable."

"You think I planned this? How was I supposed to know that Charlie would go prying?" Came her plaintive cry.

"Because he's Charlie." I murmured as I joined the others around the kitchen table, ready to hear whatever exciting story Charlie had to tell.


	30. A Giant Tale

Chapter 30: A Giant Tale

Mr. Onimous had once told me that a "White Witch" was one of the most special endowments a person could have, but that didn't stop me from being envious of Charlie's endowment. Uncle Paton had once told me that he was the only picture traveler alive and that Charlie's endowment was one of the rarer ones along with Salem's. It allowed him to visit the most amazing places. He had met Skarpo the medieval wizard, he traveled into a wall painting inside of the Castle of Mirrors and had even gone inside of a tabloid magazine once to tell us what the celebrities were really like.

I wondered what stories he would have to tell about Badlock. Charlie wasn't bright, but he had a talent for storytelling and I knew that none of us would be disappointed, even if some of it was exaggerated. "How did you even get inside of the painting anyway?" Olivia inquired immediately.

"I don't know, it just happened." Charlie began. "I went down to look at the painting and before I unwrapped it, I could already hear inside of it. I could hear wind and the cracking of old trees. And then I was inside. I hardly traveled at all. It was as if someone reached out and pulled me right in. I've never felt anything like it before."

"What happened next?" I asked.

"I met a giant!" He said excitedly.

"A giant!?" Everyone gasped, including Maisie who was rummaging through the fridge to find something that would feed us all.

"Sort of a giant." Charlie backpedaled. "He was as big as a house, but he told me that he was the runt of his family. He saved me from trolls who saw me in the field. He let me into his tower and hid me from them. One of them, his name was Oddthumb. He looked exactly like that ugly stone troll statue on Aunt Venetia's porch!" Everyone else seemed to understand what Charlie was talking about, but I had never been to Aunt Venetia's house so I knew nothing of her ugly stone troll. "The Giant told me his name was Otus Yewbeam, he said that he was Amoret's wife and he had been captured by the Count, but his son had escaped with Petrello and Tolmeo." He went on to tell us more about the strange land of Badlock. He told us about a large fortress in the distance where the Enchanter lived. He talked about the troll army, describing them as disgusting warty things and the other strange creatures that inhabited the land. He called them squirras and blancavamps. "And then Runner arrived." He made it to the part of the story that Ben had been waiting for. "We had to wait until it was dark to go get him. When he came into the painting, he brought Claerwen with him. She was how I was able to get home. I had a hold of him when I began to travel, but it seemed as if something was holding him back and I returned to the cellar alone."

"They wanted to eat you, Charlie. Would they eat Runner too?" Benjamin wailed.

Before Charlie could answer, Maisie sat down a plate of sandwiches in the center of the table. "Eat, all of you." She said cheerfully. She didn't have to tell any of us twice. We all reached for sandwiches, but Benjamin didn't have an appetite. "Salem-" Maisie tried to stop Salem as he took a bite of a sandwich. His face screwed up in disgust. "Those ones have pickles on them." He hated pickles, especially sweet ones.

"From the sound of your adventure, it seems that the Enchanter is at work again." Uncle Paton said grimly.

"That can't be true. I thought that Charlie and the others got rid of him whenever they chanted that spell around the tree." I took a second sandwich from the tray. "It had to have done something, because everyone was disenchanted and dad woke up. And that horrible witch, Mrs. Tilpin, vanished."

"Nevertheless, is there still a shadow in the King's portrait?"

"Yes, it's still there." Charlie confessed.

"Then he still exists. He is still connected to our world, if somehow faintly."

"Like with that painting?" I asked. "Or is he still here because of the Mirror of Amoret?"

"The mirror was cracked." Charlie interjected. "It broke when Joshua stole it from me."

"They must be trying to find a way to fix it." Salem said solemnly. "I'm willing to bet that Mrs. Tilpin is in the academy somewhere, doing whatever it is that evil witches do."

The house was silent after all of Charlie's friends cleared out. Fidelio walked Olivia home and Benjamin had been pissed off enough at Charlie that he left not long after he recounted his tale. Grandma Bone was still sulking around and any time I had to see her, I found myself getting angrier and angrier that she put Charlie in that kind of danger. "Come on, Fin. Sitting in this house isn't doing you any good and you might do something we'll all regret." Salem begged me to leave the house. "Let's go for a drive or something."

"I think that might be a good idea." Maisie agreed. "Grizelda is just going to keep trying to provoke you until she has an excuse to punish you."

"Fine." I grumbled. Salem and I grabbed our coats and shoes and went out to the car. "Where are we going?"

"I just thought we would drive around a bit." He opened the passenger door for me. That was Salem, always a gentleman. "I have something I want to talk to you about, actually." He suddenly seemed tense and uncomfortable. That left me to leaf through my head anything that I could have possibly done wrong in the last few months that would have upset him. I couldn't come up with anything as we pulled away from the house and headed towards the Heights where the academy sat. Salem didn't turn on the radio or speak for a very long time. I could feel a nervous pain in my chest and my stomach was starting to get upset.

"Salem, please just tell me what it is before I throw up or something. You're making me anxious."

"My endowment isn't coming back, Fin." He blurted. I could see tears welling up in his blue eyes. "What little that I had, what was coming back, is going away. I can't even hear what you're thinking right now."

I leaned back against the seat and stared at the road in front of us. We were approaching the academy but I didn't know why he would want to go there. I didn't know what to say to Salem to make him feel better. Manfred hadn't taken that long to replace his old endowment with a new one. "It's okay." I said finally. "You don't need to be able to read minds for us to love you and need you."

"I don't think you completely understand the severity of this. I can't protect you anymore. And I can't protect myself. I was told things that could get us all killed, and I was only told because we thought no one would be able to hypnotize me or read my mind. If Manfred ever regains his hypnotism, I'll be vulnerable. If- No, when Harken comes back, I'll be vulnerable to him as well. If they're planning something, which I'm almost positive they are, I won't be able to figure it out and keep us all safe. For the first time in our lives, Manfred is stronger than me and I'm not going to be able to keep him or anyone else under control. This is bigger than all of us, Fin. They have more allies than we do. They haven't all showed themselves but they are out there. There are so many endowed adults living in this city. This is going to get dangerous. People are going to lose their lives and I'm not going to be able to stop it."

"Why does that burden have to be on your shoulders alone?" I asked. He gripped the wheel tighter and pulled over into the academy parking lot. There were no lights and the sun was going down. No one would be able to see that we were there soon enough. He rested his forehead on the steering wheel and his body began to heave with sobs. I was frozen. I had never seen him this upset before. While Salem had a bigger heart than the other Bloors, he was still a Bloor. He was used to being entirely in control and being powerful. He had already been stripped of his wealth and his status, and now he was stripped of his power. He didn't have an advantage anymore.

"Since the moment I met you, I've been trying my hardest to protect you. And even when I had my fucking powers I didn't do that good of a job." He was yelling now, shaking harder. His teeth were gritted and he was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white and the veins in his forearms were bulging. "Honestly, if you weren't what you are, you would have been dead a long time ago. Because I wasn't even able to protect you then. I'm completely fucking useless to you, Infinity."

"You are not." Salem was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. I didn't know what to say or do to calm him down. "I never loved you for what you could do or for what you had. I love you for who you are. I would be absolutely lost without you."

"I don't deserve someone like you. You would be better off having never met me. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have let anyone find out that you were endowed. You deserved a normal life."

"Don't ever say that." I said sharply. "I was miserable before I came here. I felt alone, like no one cared about me. My dad was gone all the time and my mother treated me like shit. Now I have a family that loves me, the most interesting little brother in the world, I have friends and I have you. All of this is worth it to me. No matter how much I complain about being endowed, this is the life that I want. This is the life that I am proud of." I reached forward and pried one of his hands off of the steering wheel so I could hold it. He turned his head slightly to look at me. I couldn't see him all that well anymore. The sun had gone all the way down and the dim light that had filled the car just minutes before had gone away.

He pulled me in and he kissed me. His kiss was desperate and sad. It made my heart heavy and my own eyes well with tears. I just wanted him to be happy again. I wanted him to feel as loved as he was. His hands tangled into my hair and he held me closer and kissed me harder. My heart was beating heavy in my chest and I began to feel nervous. It was then that his hands began to wander. "Salem." I murmured, unsure if this is how I wanted it to be.

"If you want me to stop, I'll stop." He froze, his breath was warm on my neck.

I didn't know what I wanted. "Have you done this before?" I asked. This wasn't the right time to be asking this question, but I never really cared before now.

"…Yes." He awkwardly admitted. While most girls would be upset, this actually made me feel more comfortable. I wasn't a jealous person. "Though not in a car." He was starting to lighten up a little bit.

"I think I'll be okay." I tried to give him my most confident look (not that he could really see it in the dark).

"You can tell me to stop at any time." He reassured me as he leaned towards me.

 

The car ride back to town was awkward and silent. I was sore and wanted to just jump in the shower and lay in my bed, but I was afraid that if Maisie even looked at my face for more than a second, she would know what happened. "Are you okay?" He asked me as he placed his hand on my knee. His touch gave me goose bumps. "Does it still hurt?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I put my hands over my face and groaned. I still felt nervous and my stomach was upset. Salem parked in his spot next to the house and turned the car off. "I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"You're not upset with me, are you?" His cheeks started to flush red. He thought that I was upset with him, but I didn't have the energy to explain to him that this was something that was major to me and I needed time to process everything alone.

"No, you're fine. I just need time to relax and be by myself for a little bit." I adjusted my clothes and tied my hair up into a ponytail. "All of this on top of Charlie getting sucked into a painting is a little too much for me to handle in one day. If Maisie asks, just tell her I wasn't able to calm down so I just went to bed to avoid yelling at Grandma Bone."

Salem sighed loudly and shook his head. "Good night, Infinity." He gave me a peck on the lips and we went into the house. I could hear talking in the kitchen but I walked away from it and headed to my room. Salem, on the other hand, still felt like socializing and ducked into the kitchen.

Once I got upstairs, I locked myself in my bathroom and took a long, hot shower. I felt bad for being so distant to Salem after something so important happened, but I hadn't anticipated feeling this emotionally and physically drained afterwards. I didn't regret what we did, but I felt like it could have waited. Salem probably felt worse than he did before. I couldn't even imagine what he was going through, but he was still trying to help us with our problems as well.

I dressed myself, picked up the clothing and towels from my bathroom floor and tossed them in the hamper. Once I reached my bed, I flopped down and reached over towards my end table where a picture of Salem and I sat. He was laughing in it. I couldn't even remember who took it, probably Charlie. It was an old one from the beginning of the school year, we were only friends then. We had just been out walking around on a sunny yet lazy day. He had just completely butchered a joke he was trying to tell me, but ultimately made it even funnier. "You were wrong. It's me that doesn't deserve you." I whispered to his photograph.


	31. Salem: Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told in Salem's POV

Chapter 31: Something New

Salem

I had set mine and Charlie's alarm several minutes early on Monday morning. We had to catch the bus because Paton had asked to borrow my car after everyone else went to bed. He told me he was selling his minivan and purchasing a camper van instead. He would need a vehicle for the two days he would be without one. I didn't bother asking him why he needed to purchase a camper van, but I figured it had to do with him traveling far to research whatever it was that held his interest.

I didn't worry about our change in routine messing Infinity up too much. She was usually awake before anyone else in the house. Charlie went upstairs to warn her anyway, leaving me an opening to get into the bathroom before he did. I hoped that a shower would make me feel better.

I definitely felt much more relaxed than I had yesterday. It wasn't in my plans to tell Infinity about my waning powers, and I most certainly didn't expect our night to end the way it did. I felt embarrassed having cried in front of her. I needed to be strong for her, but I felt so weak inside.

I tried to push my own pathetic problems out of my head as I rushed to get ready. I looked at my face in the mirror. I looked healthier, but I didn't really feel it. I ran my hand along my chin. I decided I didn't want to shave my face this time. I groomed myself instead. I prided myself on being the only Bloor able to grow a decent beard. Not that I was really a Bloor anymore.

When I went downstairs to eat the breakfast that Maisie made, Infinity was already there. She seemed to be feeling much better today as well. She had even taken the time to curl her hair and apply make up. I never thought she needed it, but she said it made her feel better. She looked up at me momentarily, taking a break from shoving hashbrowns in her mouth. A blush crept to her cheeks and eventually turned her whole face red. "Hi." She said finally.

"Morning." I sat down next to her and helped myself to my own breakfast. No one said much and Maisie didn't seem to care that we were all quiet that morning. She did wish us all a good week as we left the house to go wait for the bus.

When we boarded the bus, there weren't many seats left. Filbert Street was one of the last stops on the blue bus route because of how far it was from the academy. Charlie found a seat with Fidelio, I sat next to Gabriel and Infinity sat with Riley Burns. Riley and Infinity had been hanging out more in school. They were study partners, worked together as head boy and prefect, they did their rounds together and had the same serving schedule. It unnerved me occasionally, but he seemed to have a lot of respect for her. She deserved to have at least one normal friend.

"Have you guys heard about the Pets' Café?" Gabriel asked. "It's a disaster."

"Have they really closed it?" Charlie frowned. I was confused. I hadn't heard a thing about the Pets' Café closing. I was usually the first to hear most information.

Those kids loved the Pets' Café. They spent all of their weekends there, making plans and enjoying the company. Infinity and I had gone with them a few times but cats made her sneezy. She usually had to take allergy medicine when she left.

"Permanently." Fidelio answered sadly.

"I believe Councilor Loom would be the person to blame." Riley cut in with his thick Irish accent. "My mum was at the council meeting. She said something about noise complaints."

The news had bummed everyone out so much that they didn't really talk the rest of the ride. We arrived at the academy shortly and from there, I separated from everyone else. Riley and Infinity would probably go to the coat room, then the Prefect's room to do whatever it is the other prefects actually did in there. Charlie stopped to talk to Tancred and Lysander to tell them about Badlock and I didn't want to be around to listen again. I decided to stop in Mr. O'Connor's room before assembly started and play my guitar. I wasn't able to play if Grizelda was home.

As I walked through the hall, I noticed it was emptier than usual. There wasn't a single purple cape in sight. The Drama bus was running late, which was something that had never happened since I had been alive. We didn't find out what had happened to them until first break.

"Look, they're back." Infinity pointed out, indicating to the purple capes seen walking around and participating in various activities around the courtyard.

Accident….Ominous….Bike I was catching someone's thoughts. They sounded like Olivia Vertigo's. I compared my telepathy to a radio signal. Usually I had great signal all the time. Lately, I've been hearing a very faint signal or none at all. Today, thoughts were cutting in and out of my head more frequently than what had become my new normal.

"There was an accident." I murmured.

"What?" She was confused. Of course, I wasn't making any sense. I had just told her yesterday that I couldn't read minds anymore.

"Infinity! Salem!" I heard our names being called from a group in the corner. Charlie was standing with Fidelio, Gabriel, Emma, Olivia and Billy over by the ruined castle. They all seemed even more upset than they had when discussing the Pets' Café closing. Emma actually looked ready to cry.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" I asked.

"There was an accident. A motorcycle hit Mr. and Mrs. Ominous on their bike. It seemed intentional. Mrs. Ominous is okay, but we have no idea if Mr. Ominous is going to be okay. That's why the purple bus was late this morning." He explained.

"What?" Infinity's eyes widened. "Poor Mr. Ominous! If I could get to him-"

"There's no way anyone is going to let you leave now that you're here." Gabriel informed her. "You'll have to wait until the weekend."

"If he even lasts the weekend! Who would do such a thing to that sweet man?" She let out a defeated sigh. She had this complex that made her want to help everyone she met. It was why I didn't want her to become a doctor. She couldn't heal everyone. It would take too much out of her. So, Infinity did what she always did when something proved to be too much for her. She walked off on her own, lost in her own thoughts.

I found that it was best to leave her alone when she got like that. She was constantly stressed out lately and I never knew what to say or do to comfort her. It was straining our relationship a little, but I refused to leave her side over it. Everyone had their own issues to work through but I wished she would let me help her with hers.

I didn't really talk to her for the rest of the day. She spent her free periods alone in the prefects room trying to study for midterms. We didn't sit together at dinner, either. It was her job to serve, so I sat with Charlie and his friends at the center of the table while she and Riley served and passed plates down to each end of the table.

Charlie was in a daze most of dinner. He didn't respond to anyone who spoke to him and Billy seemed to be dying to tell him something that he wouldn't listen to. I wanted the little guy to ease up a little bit, so I tried to extend my ear to him to have a private conversation.

What's wrong, Billy? I strained myself to communicate with him. His expression perked up a bit and he looked at me. He could hear me.

…Tilpin…in…academy…caught…spying.

I tried to piece it together. Mrs. Tilpin is in the academy? She caught you spying?

Billy seemed confused, thought for a moment, then nodded. My thoughts must not have been projecting well back to him either. Something is going on between her and Manfred. I caught that part clearly and I shuddered at the thought. Dark magic made people ugly. It was happening to Manfred and it happened to Ezekiel. I didn't even want to think about what the once beautiful Miss Chrystal looked like now that she was the nefarious Mrs. Tilpin. Will you tell Charlie?

Of course. I turned my attention to Charlie and relayed the message. He seemed to have heard me. I was quite impressed with myself and couldn't wait to tell Infinity that I had improved today.

"…Manfred wants to see me alone after supper." Charlie groaned, finally speaking out loud. "Please don't tell Infinity. She'll freak out and he'll probably punish me worse when she's not around."

Infinity meant well, but she made things harder for Charlie sometimes. He was independent and wanted to try and do things for himself, where Infinity was assertive and just a little bit bossy. He would only be alone with Charlie for a few moments. Manfred wouldn't be able to get information out of him, not with the plan that Grandpa Bart had told me. I wasn't worried. I made the judgement call that he would be okay on his own, but I would try to stay close behind him in case something did happen.

In the commotion of being released from dinner, Charlie was able to slip by and head to the King's Room before anyone could follow him, including me. When I did make it to the door, I found that I had been beaten there. Infinity was standing in the doorway, silently watching. She wasn't even trying to hide herself, not that she needed to. Manfred and Charlie both appeared to be in a trance. They were just staring at each other, neither of them moving. I didn't even think they were breathing.

"They've been like this for too long." Infinity said when she noticed me. She slipped through the door and went to Charlie's side, placing her hand on his shoulder. He immediately snapped out of his stupor and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

"I actually feel great." Charlie replied with a smile. He didn't look like someone who had been hypnotized. Manfred didn't look too good though. When Charlie had snapped out of his trance, Manfred slumped forward onto the table.

She turned her attention to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Manfred?"

He lazily turned his head to look at her and tried to stand up from the table as the other students flooded in. He could barely hold himself up. "Get started on your homework." He said, his speech thick and slurred. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was drunk. He was having a hard time limping out the door. Dorcas, Joshua and the Twins looked on in horror.

"Let me help you." Infinity insisted.

"Infinity." I said sharply. For some reason, her eagerness to help him pissed me off. She was like that with everyone, but seeing it for someone has callus and heartless as my brother really bothered me. "No."

"He can barely walk, Salem." She glared back at me. "Look after the room while I'm gone."

"No. You're not going." I didn't like them alone together and I could feel my temper rising. Something about the way they interacted with each other bothered me. I knew Manfred's thoughts. He had many conflicting thoughts on his feelings for Infinity and for whatever reason, she thought it was possible for him to change.

"Another word and you'll have detention for insubordination." She suddenly snapped. The room got even quieter. "You're not to speak to me that way."

I made my fatal mistake when I laughed in her face. I had tried to stop myself, but I couldn't. I didn't want to believe she would do anything. "Lysander, you're in charge." She wouldn't look at me now. "Salem, you won't be going home Friday. I'm giving you detention. You can go see the headmaster now. Maybe he can give you a lesson on respect."

I watched them leave the room slowly. Manfred wasn't the kind of person to accept help, but he let Infinity loop her arm around his skinny waist and help him out of the room. I heard him say something to her, but his speech was too slurred for me to understand it.

Whenever they were gone, I looked back at Charlie. "Can you believe that?" I laughed. "He tried to hypnotize you and she wants to help him."

"Yes, I can believe that." Charlie frowned. "I'm fine and he isn't. She helps people, no matter who they are. You know that." He looked down at his homework and began to work.

"You should listen to her and go to the headmaster's office." Lysander added solemnly. "You gave up the authority you had here. Infinity is someone who should be respected, and not only because she is an authoritative person. You should respect your partner."

Lysander was right but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction in telling him so. I just rolled my eyes and left my seat. The walk to the headmaster's office was something I was used to, but this was the first time I had been the one in trouble.

Infinity would be taking Manfred back to the West Wing, so I was fated to pass them. When I did see them, they were both walking just a little below normal pace. Manfred didn't need Infinity to hold him up any longer, but he was still having a little bit of trouble.

I walked passed them and didn't say a word. I knew I should apologize to her, but I wasn't ready yet. I was still angry.

"You're not in charge anymore. You don't have any authority in this building. If I ever hear you talk to my head prefect like that again, I'll make sure you're suspended." Manfred growled at me. I stopped walking and turned to look at him. As much as it hurt my pride, he was someone I couldn't just walk away from and ignore. Not anymore.

It had been a long time since I had a good look at my brother and I almost couldn't believe that we had once been identical. His black hair was streaked with gray, his eyes had bags under them. His complexion was sickly and he walked with a limp. He was even thinner than I remembered.

"It won't happen again," I choked on my next word. "Sir."

He smiled, showing of a row of yellowed teeth. "That's right. It won't."

I turned my back and kept walking. I didn't want to be around him any longer. I went to the headmaster's study and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" My father's booming voice made a lump rise in my throat.

"Salem." I said quietly. I heard his heavy footsteps approaching the door. He pulled it open and invited me inside. He generally never answered his study door. He made students walk in on their own.

"What is it, son?" As the word "son" left his lips, he winced. I wasn't his son. Not anymore.

"Infinity sent me here and she gave me detention." I explained, expecting him to yell.

Instead, he chuckled. "I have an incredibly hard time disliking that girl." He said. "She's clever, meticulous and incredibly reliable. She's the best prefect we have had in a long time. It's a shame that she's Lyell's daughter. She would have made a fantastic Bloor."

"No, she wouldn't have." I said coldly. "She has a conscience." I could never picture Infinity injuring people for her own personal gain. "She doesn't care about money or status."

He laughed even harder. "If you think for a moment that she doesn't care about status, you're too stupid and naïve for someone with telepathy. As I told you before, she is going to be someone great and you're going to waste your life away. She's ambitious and motivated while you're lazy and uninspired. Whatever she becomes, she's going to make her own money and a lot of it. Do you think she's going to want a failed, dried up musician to feed off of her once she has an established career? You could have at least picked up something practical like your mother, but you want to be a rock star. Your probability for success is low." He stood up and began to pace around his desk. "Say you do succeed. Say you get a record deal and you become famous and beloved all over the world. Infinity isn't social and she'll be rooted to a career in one place. Musicians tour and don't see their families for months. She pretends to be confident but deep down, she's insecure. How is she going to handle the women you'll be around?"

"Why do you suddenly care so much about Infinity and her future anyway? Even if we didn't work out, I wouldn't come crawling back here. Soon enough, I won't have anything to crawl back to. This will all be Billy's." I smirked. I expected his malicious grin to falter, but it never did. He had a plan, a fucked up and sadistic plan. And I was willing to bet that it had something to do with Billy and Badlock. That's why Runner Bean was trapped. To lure Billy into the painting where the Enchanter lived. I lowered my voice. "Even if you trap Billy in Badlock, they won't let you keep the academy. It doesn't belong to you. You'll be kicked out as soon as the will is found."

"You're confident that it will be found. It won't be found, because Lyell won't be coming home. And your poor Infinity will be an orphan along with her little brother." His smile grew larger. "And I'll have plenty of room for that girl under my roof. I'll pay for her college, which she won't refuse. And Grizelda will figure out what to do with that other brat."

"You act like she can be bought, that she would want to live here after you called the shots that killed her parents. You act like Maisie would just give her up to you with no fight."

We were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in." My father called.

The door opened and Infinity walked in. "Manfred was feeling sick, sir. I escorted him to his room. He will be fine after some rest." She informed him. Then she looked at me. She had an apologetic look in her eye, but she didn't say a word to me.

"Thank you, you both may leave." My father kicked us both out, and we were both happy to oblige.

We walked back to the King's room together and didn't speak at first. I knew that if I wanted on her good side again, I would have to swallow my pride and apologize for not taking her seriously. "Look," I said, finally. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. I guess it just bothers me that even after all the shit he has pulled, you were willing to help Manny like that."

"I thought you of all people would understand." She smoothed out a wrinkle in her cape as we continued onward. "I think that Manfred can be saved. You and I both know that he's not completely evil. He just needs to get away from this place, he needs to quit dabbling in dark magic before it actually does break his mind. Do you want your brother to end up like Ezekiel?"

"It's too late. Just look at him, he's already falling apart. He's messing with magic that he doesn't know a thing about and it's already taking a toll on his mind. We're too late. His thoughts when you were helping him were not pleasant."

"…His thoughts?" She stopped walking. "You told me just last night that you can't read minds anymore. Did you lie to me?"

I felt my cheeks burning and I stopped walking too. "No, oh god no. I would never lie to you, Infinity. I think what we did… it brought my powers back. I've been able to hear people all day today."

Her face turned even redder than mine. "Well, that's fantastic. I'm happy for you." She stumbled over her words.

"Are you still embarrassed?" I asked her. She refused to meet my gaze, which gave me my answer. "You didn't do anything wrong. I thought it was fine. If anything, you shouldn't feel shy around me after that." I leaned in close to her. "It can only get better. We can try again, if you want." I flirted.

The horrified look on her face was worth it. I couldn't help but to laugh. She was a strong person, but I had never met someone who got flustered and uncomfortable so easily. She hid her face in her hands. "Please stop." She begged. I pulled her hands away from her face and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I'm only teasing. You make it too easy. Come on, we should get back just in case Lysander can't keep the peace."

"Lysander is the most powerful endowed in this building. I highly doubt anyone would refuse to listen to him." She pointed out. She wasn't wrong. Lysander's spiritual ancestors were a bunch that I didn't want to tangle with.

When we got back to the King's room, Infinity's assumption about Lysander was correct. Not a single child made a sound and they all sat with their heads bent over their books. They didn't even look up whenever we took our seats. **_Did you apologize?_** Lysander's thoughts projected into my mind and took me by surprise. It would take me awhile to get used to being fully powered, or at least close to it, again.

 _Yes, mom. I apologized. Everything's good._ I mocked him. When I looked up at him, he just shook his head disappointedly. I hoped that they didn't think I didn't respect Infinity, that my worries had been justified and I didn't want Manfred to try and pull something on her again. _Infinity knows my intentions. That's all I care about._ I added. I knew I would have to make this up to her somehow, but at least she wasn't angry anymore.


	32. Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Sexual assault, mentions of rape

Chapter 32: Alliance

~ TRIGGER WARNING ABOVE ~

I couldn't shake the feeling that something very bad was going to happen soon. I felt sick to my stomach as I sat alone in my private room. I stared up at the bare, hanging light bulb that bathed the room in a pale yellow light. I was grateful for the privacy, but this room was every bit as uncomfortable and dull as the regular dorms. I was also responsible for cleaning my own bathroom, which I had to wake up early to do once a week with the basket of cleaning supplies left under my sink by the staff.

As I sat on my bed, I thought about my conversation with Salem. He was right, Manfred was too invested in dark magic now. It would be too late for me to help him. While he was kinder to me than he was everyone else (save for his occasional violent outburst), I knew it was an act. He was taking advantage of me and I was playing right into it. I had a soft spot for him, but only because he was Salem's twin. Although they were nothing alike and Manfred was becoming someone that Salem didn't recognize anymore, he still loved him. I didn't want to give up on him, but if Salem was ready to give up on him, what was the point?

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. It was after lights out, and I was free to turn my lights off whenever I wanted, so it couldn't be Matron. I walked across the rickety floor and pushed the door open. And like I always did when I opened my door, I wondered who the hell installed it and why they did it backwards. Manfred was standing in the doorway holding a candelabrum.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not daring to speak above a whisper. Being alone with him always made me nervous after what had happened my first year.

"Let me in before Matron sees." He whispered back. I didn't want to let him in, but I didn't want to disobey him either. "Please." He begged.

I stepped to the side and he walked in, pulling the door closed behind him. He sat the candelabrum down on my dresser and looked around my room.

"If you didn't want Matron to see you, then why did you have a whole candelabrum?" I said incredulously. I silently called out for Salem, hoping he would hear me.

"It's dark. And I know her rounds." He shrugged. "I want to talk to you about something."

"Make it quick." I looked over at the alarm clock on my nightstand. "I have an exam in the morning."

"I need your help." He closed the distance between us and I felt as if my heart would beat out of my chest. This was the "something bad" I was feeling. Something terrible was going to happen to me. I continued to silently beg Salem for aid, but I didn't know if he could hear me. "It's no secret that I have been messing around with dark magic. Look at me. I know my looks are fading. And I know you suspect that Mrs. Tilpin is back. After watching how badly Mrs. Tilpin has deteriorated, I don't want to be like that. I don't want to look like my grandfather."

"Then stop." I didn't know what he wanted from me. "If you stop now, it won't get worse."

"My energy has already been tainted. I can't stop. It's…like a drug. I need help." He grabbed my hands tightly and I couldn't pull away. "I need you to help me."

"How do you expect me to help you?"

"The way you helped Asa. I noticed that Salem is getting his powers back too. I can feel when he's listening to my thoughts, and I know he was listening to them earlier today. I have no doubt that you are responsible."

"Look, I don't think I have it in me to help you the way I helped Asa. That took all of my power. And the way I helped Salem… that didn't take anything out of me but I'm not willing to do for you what I did for him." I felt my face turn bright red. "And you being more powerful is the last thing I need." I was finally starting to understand my powers. If I let them be fueled with emotion, it wouldn't draw out of me physically. When I kissed Salem and pulled the cancer from his body, it made me feel tired but I had still been able to function. Even the first time I had helped Asa hadn't taken anything out of me, I had still been feeling anger towards Salem. I had brought Manfred back from the brink of death and was still alright, only because I had felt excitement that my father had regained some of his memory. The final time I had used my power to help Asa, that had been different. I had been trying too hard to use my powers and hadn't been feeling many emotions. It had been a neutral night for me despite the excitement. The last time Manfred and I got into an altercation, I had been too panicked and wasn't confident in myself, on top of discovering a new use for my endowment.

"You figured out how to use your powers without it costing your own physical energy?" He had not been expecting that breakthrough. I realized I had made a mistake in telling him. "How?"

"I don't think that it's any of your business." I tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let go. His hands were getting warmer and I knew that if I didn't quell his temper, I would get burned.

"Emotion." He was piecing everything together in his mind. The glint in his eye told me that I would be in trouble. He shoved me back against the wall hard. "I don't need permission if you can't control your emotions…" His nice guy act was gone. I could see the true, evil intentions in his eyes.

"If you don't leave, I'll scream." I warned. "I've already told Salem you're here."

"I guess you better hope he was listening." He kept my arms pinned down by my head. He forced me to look at him, his gaze paralyzing my body. I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to head-butt him, kick him or something but he had me overpowered. The control he had gained over his endowment was impressive, especially after he seemed to lose it for a while. I felt his lips on mine and there wasn't anything I could do. Even if the emotion wasn't a positive one, it would give him the boost he needed.

He had expected fear, but all I could feel was anger. Anger for all of the people who had taken advantage of me because they assumed that I was weaker than them. "You think you can just take what you want." I said when he pulled away. I could see the magic already working, his hair getting thicker, his face filling out and the scars fading away. "There will be consequences to this."

"You're going to keep your mouth shut." He shoved my dead weight onto my bed. I couldn't feel anything. He held out his hands and large dancing flames erupted from them. "You see this? I may not be able to hurt you, but I can hurt Charlie and I can hurt Salem."

"Someday, everything is going to come crashing down on you, Manfred. You'll get your karma."

"I highly doubt that, Miss Bone. I'm only going to get more powerful." The malicious grin that spread across his face told me that he wasn't done with me.

We were interrupted by a loud commotion in the hallway. "What makes you think you can be out after lights out?! ON THE GIRLS FLOOR NO LESS. I'll make sure you get detention for this!" It was Matron screaming. Salem was coming, but it didn't matter. Most of the damage had already been done.

Salem yanked the door open and ran in. "What's going on?" He demanded. He looked over at me as I lay in a motionless heap on my bed. He ran to my side and scanned the room for Manfred, who hadn't moved. He was just standing there with a triumphant smile on his perfectly healed face. He must have read Manfred's thoughts because he swung at him. Manfred didn't flinch, he just grabbed his fist and squeezed hard. I could smell the burning skin as Salem let out a pained yell and sunk to the floor, holding the wrist of his burnt hand. The commotion drew others out of their dorms to look in the hallway, causing Matron to never make it to my room. She was too busy screaming at the other girls to get back to bed. Manfred let out another triumphant laugh and slipped out of the room.

Whenever he left, I started to regain use of my limbs. I threw myself onto the floor and over to where Salem was still in shock over the trauma of his burned hand. "I can make it better." I said softly, trying not to move him too much.

"It's not too bad. Don't try to push yourself on my account. The skin will heal on its own." Salem murmured. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough."

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier." I sighed. "You were right. He's beyond saving."

 

After my eventful night, I was barely able to stay awake long enough to finish my history exam. There were vicious and cruel rumors about what had happened the night before, with Salem being on the Girls' floor and something about a boy in my room. I told Riley the whole story as we sat together in the blue cafeteria during lunch. "Salem flew out of the room like a bat out of hell. I figured somethin' of the sort was happenin'." Riley shook his head solemnly. "You have bad luck with men. I remember when the same thing happened with Asa Pike."

"At least Asa thought he had some kind of feelings for me. Manfred did it straight for the selfish reason of attaining power. Have you seen him at all today? He looks completely different. Though it won't be long before he comes back, trying to get me to return what dark magic took away yet again." I put my hand over my lips. The thought of having to go through that again made me feel sick. I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes. "I can't believe that I thought I could help him."

"You're a good person, Infinity. Never feel bad about that." He put a reassuring hand on my back. "I'm happy it didn't end worse for you. I can't believe he was able to paralyze you like that."

"I didn't know he could do anything like that either." I sighed into the table. Riley was right, it could have ended way worse for me, then he would have been even more powerful. I had to erase that thought from my brain. It made me feel even more nauseous. I had hoped that Manfred was above rape, but the way he looked at me after he had flung me onto the bed told me different. He didn't seem to care about the consequences of gaining power.

I went through the day ignoring the stupid assumptions that people made. I was too tired to fight back about it. I didn't care what people thought of me anymore. They would never understand what went on in the world of the endowed students, so why should I bother explaining? The period before dinner, Dagbert Endless came to me with a note. "The talents master wishes to see you." It read. I didn't want to go, but disobeying was never an option for me. I had to at least show up. I decided that I didn't want to go alone and went out to search for Lysander. He was level-headed enough. He had been there for me when I had gone through a similar thing with Asa.

I forgave Asa, of course. He had proven himself to actually care about me, even if he didn't understand his feelings. There was still a lot that Asa was confused about. I didn't doubt that he cared about me and my family, but I did doubt that he had figured his sexuality out so quickly. I hoped that wherever he was, he was working on himself and striving to be happy.

I didn't have those wishes for Manfred, however. For Manfred, his motive was power and possibly jealousy. He would keep taking and taking from me as long as I allowed him. I wasn't going to allow him anymore. I was going to fight back with all of my strength, even if it drained me completely.

I found Lysander in the sculpture room of the art department, just as I figured I would. He was working on an interesting sculpture of a parrot. It was very life-like and Lysander's careful attention to detail never failed to leave me breathless. "Hi, Sander." I said, hoping to not startle him.

"Oh, hi!" He smiled at me. I was sure that he had heard the rumors going around, but he knew me well enough to not believe them. "What's wrong, Infinity?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something. And I need you to come somewhere with me. I don't want to be alone."

"Of course," Lysander had never turned me away when I came to him for help. Out of all of Charlie's friends, he was the one that I was closest with. I explained to him the events of the night before and he was horrified to hear them. I told him that Manfred had sent for me to meet him in his office and that I didn't want to go alone. "I'll go with you, yeah. I can't guarantee that he'll be happy about it, but I would rather be yelled at and berated than to leave you alone with him. Especially after all he has done to you."

We walked to Manfred's office together. His door was open and I could see him sitting at his desk. He was writing something but I didn't try to see what. "You asked for me, sir?" I tried to hold back the rage I was feeling. Just seeing him and his perfectly healed body made me want to mangle him.

"I only asked for you." He looked up at us, noticing Lysander was there.

"I don't care." I glared back at him, suddenly not caring about him or his personal respect. He had shown no regard for mine, so why should I for his? He smirked at me and stood up. His movements were fluid and smooth. I stepped back, worried that he would try something again. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to thank you. It was very generous of you to help me." He was up to something, but I couldn't figure out what. "And you can't deny it, there was something there. You didn't feel it?"

"No, I couldn't feel anything." I said through gritted teeth. "I was paralyzed. Now, if you're finished mocking me, I would like to go get dinner."

"Calm." Lysander put his hand on my shoulder. I immediately felt better. The sounds of calm and gentle drum beats filled my ears and my body relaxed itself. Manfred's cocky grin turned into a malicious scowl as he watched Lysander keep me calm.

"Is there anything else?" I asked again.

"No. Get out of my sight!" He barked at us. We were both all too happy to leave his depressing office.

I still felt calm as I walked beside Lysander, but the drums had subsided. "He was trying to get you worked up. Your endowment is heavily tied with your emotion. If you force it, it takes a lot of your energy, doesn't it? But this way, through your feelings, it's much more powerful and you won't pass out from exhaustion anymore. But the downfall is that if you can't control your emotions, you can be easily taken advantage of like Manfred did to you last night." He explained to me. "Sometimes you have to take a moment and clear your head. I think meditation would be beneficial to you. Mine and Tanc's endowments work the same way. I've learned to control it. Tanc is…trying." He chuckled at the thought of his hotheaded friend trying to keep his cool. "Everyone else's just comes naturally. Billy's is just like learning another language, Asa and Emma use theirs based on instinct. Charlie, Gabe, Olivia, and all of the others can just do theirs at no cost to their physical being."

"Manfred tried to hypnotize Charlie and passed out. Is his emotional too?"

"Mental endowments like his, Salem's and the twins, that's a whole different ball game. I still don't understand how those work." Lysander shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes if they push themselves too hard, it hurts them, but most of the time it seems to just be second nature for them. But we're the unlucky ones. If we lose control we can easily be taken advantage of, or we could really hurt someone. Sometimes you just have to breathe. I don't want to pressure you or frighten you, but your endowment can really hurt us. Look at what Manfred was able to do because you allowed yourself to be manipulated like that. His body completely restored itself, and it may have even boosted his endowment. You're special, you know. White witches are very rare and your strength is not a bad thing, especially because of all you were able to do for Salem, but Manfred cannot get to you like that again."

"You're right." I sighed. When we got our dinner trays, we split up and went to our designated tables. I took an empty seat between Riley and Charlie. Salem sat across from me with Fidelio and Gabriel. His hand was still wrapped in a bandage.

"Where have you been?" Riley asked. I usually wasn't this late to dinner.

"Manfred's office." I nervously picked at my food.

Salem slammed his bad hand down on the table and glared at me. "Why the fuck would you go?" The anger in his voice had surprised me. He was usually calm and collected. The dining hall got quiet and the staff faced their attention to Salem. Profanity was not tolerated. "Are you stupid, Infinity? Or do you like the way he treats you?"

"It was a direct order, Salem. I can't disobey him. He's part of the staff." I said quietly. I didn't like that all of the attention that we were getting.

"Oh, he's part of the staff. You hear that, Dr. Bloor?" Salem confronted Dr. Bloor directly and I didn't like the way this was going. He was yelling now and all eyes were on him "A member of your staff snuck into a student's room last night, took advantage of that student, and when I tried to get him away from her, my hand was burnt but he walked away scott free. Is that how you allow a member of your staff to act? But it's okay, right? He's your son and he can do whatever the fuck he wants."

Dr. Bloor's face turned at least three different shades of red. "Your accusations are out of line, Salem. And your insubordination will not be tolerated. Watch your tongue."

"Accusations? Is it still an accusation if you know that it's the truth?" He laughed. "You won't tolerate my insubordination but you'll tolerate all of the things that Manfred has done to Infinity since she got here? If you respect her so much, why do you keep letting these things happen to her? Is it because you haven't been able to control your children? Are you afraid of him? Because Infinity sure is. What if she would have been raped? What if something worse would have happened?"

"Will you just stop?" I couldn't take it anymore. "Do you think this is what I want? To be called out like that in front of the whole school?" I need you here, Salem. I need you here to keep me safe and you can't do that if he kicks you out. Or worse. I begged him silently, but I didn't think he was listening.

"Both of you, my study. NOW." When he yelled, I was sure that I felt the walls shake. I was terrified to go to his study, but I certainly didn't want Salem to go alone.

"Please be careful." I heard Riley murmur as the two of us walked towards the exit.

"Burns." He turned and addressed Riley. I wasn't sure if he was going to get yelled at as well. "Go find the Talents Master."

Riley leapt to his feet like the obedient man that he was and practically ran out of the room. Riley was worried for me, but now I was more worried for him. Dr. Bloor was harmless. He loomed behind us as we walked towards his study. We didn't dare say a word. **_What do you think he's going to do to us?_** Salem questioned me.

_I don't know, you're the mind reader. I think he's pissed at Manfred too. He isn't trying to be subtle anymore and I think all of this is getting way over Dr. Bloor's head._

"Knock it off." Dr. Bloor shouted from behind us.

**_He's not really thinking whole thoughts… Just jumbled up swearing and yelling. He's always like this. I can never really pick apart what's going on in his brain because most of the time he's just so angry and stressed that it doesn't make sense to me._ **

_He knows we're communicating. We should stop._

**_If I didn't know any better, I would say that you took the "Bloor Lap Dog" place when Asa left._ **

I ignored him and continued to stare straight ahead. I wasn't one of their puppets, but I did understand that they had authority over me and I needed to act accordingly. Salem was having a hard time adjusting to no longer having any kind of authoritative power. "You need to quit acting like this." I said out loud. "It's getting old."

"I need to quit acting like this?" Salem snorted. "No, Infinity. Your shit is getting old."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I was getting angry but I didn't want to show it. "You're so out of touch with reality that you don't understand what's going on. You're a student in this school, Salem. That's all you are. And when you go to school, you need to follow rules and listen to your superiors. You have to do the same thing in real life. You got pissed off because Manfred was just able to skate on by when he hurt me, but you think that you can just say and do whatever you want and that there won't be any consequences." I was trying to pick my words carefully to avoid setting him off worse. "You embarrassed me."

"I embarrassed you? So you just wanted to sweep all of this under the rug and let Manfred get away with it because I embarrassed you?" He clenched his fists.

"Have you been blind to what your family has been doing all of these years? People who act like you and get in the way, they end up dead."

"You sound like my mother. You act just like her sometimes. You just sit there and let things happen and even though you're not okay with them, you don't want the confrontation." He put his hands in his pockets. "But if this is what you want, then fine. But I would rather die trying to make things right."

For some reason, this set me off. I found myself tearing up and getting even angrier. "Why do you think that your actions only affect you? You act just like my father. At least Charlie has the courtesy to be more careful than that, but you two, you don't see the damage that you cause other people. Why do you think I keep getting hurt? Because they want to get to my dad. I got hurt the first time because they thought I could help Charlie remember him."

"Yes, the first time." Salem agreed with me. "But what about the last two times?" He said as we reached the study. Dr. Bloor listened to us argue but refused to say anything. He seemed interested. "That was for greed and power. You can't blame your father for all of your problems. He wants to help people, and sometimes there are conflicts and others get hurt in the crossfire, but for this to stop once and for all, something needs to be done."

"I'm sick of being attacked. I'm done."

"Yeah, well it's not going to stop for you, Infinity. Not as long as you are what you are. I don't know how many times people have to explain to you that White Witches aren't common and are much more powerful than average witches. Though I never thought I would meet such a selfish one. I'm done with you. If you won't let me help you, then I'm not sticking around here while you try to work against me. I'm nineteen years old and legally an adult. I'm withdrawing out of the academy and I'm leaving this town." Salem looked at his father. "You win. Your secrets die with me." He stormed out of the study and never once looked back. I hadn't expected it to end this way, with him completely leaving and never coming back.

I was in shock. I couldn't speak or move and I could barely breathe. I wanted to say something to change his mind, to make him turn back but nothing was coming out. I couldn't blame him for wanting to leave his life behind, not knowing what he knew. Dr. Bloor was just as speechless as I was, but I couldn't say he was surprised. "Where do you think he'll go?" I asked, swallowing back my tears. I didn't want Salem to leave, but this was how it had to be.

"America. For his music. He'll be fine." Dr. Bloor put his hand on my shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort me. He wasn't a kind man, but he was trying. "You'll be fine, also." He motioned for me to sit down in a chair in front of his desk and I took it. My knees had started to shake and I hadn't noticed until I took the weight off of them. He sat down behind his desk and we waited for Manfred. He eventually showed up looking incredibly pissed off.

"What do you want?" He glared at his father. "I'm busy. Dagbert has the mo-" His gaze fell on me and he stopped talking. "What is she doing in here?"

"Sit down, Manfred." Dr. Bloor rubbed his temples and I wondered how much stress having to deal with him sons caused him daily. He had a few more wrinkles on his face that hadn't been there when I met him. "Do you understand that the endowed are the minority?"

"Of course." He glanced at his father suspiciously.

"You also understand that the mayor isn't a fan of us and only tolerates us because our school is widely renowned and brings in a lot of money, correct?"

"Obviously."

Dr. Bloor slammed his fist down on the table, causing both Manfred and I to flinch. "Then why the fuck are you so hell bent on drawing negative attention to the academy?" He screamed. I could have sworn that I could see a vein throbbing in his forehead. "Do you honestly think that parents are going to send their precious prodigies hundreds of miles away when they hear rumors of a student trying to murder another student on the property in the middle of a school day? Do you think that they want their daughters going to a school where a female student was sexually assaulted by a staff member?"

"She wasn't sexually assaulted. Is that what she told you? Is that what Salem told you?" Manfred rolled his eyes.

"I know what happened. And it was sexual assault. You're really close to not inheriting this academy if you can't fucking handle it." His tone was dire, but both Manfred and I knew that he wasn't the one in control. It was Ezekiel and he would give Manfred whatever he wanted because they had the same greedy and evil agenda. "Infinity has been trying to cover for you because she fears for her safety. She isn't our target. She's powerful, but she is also docile. It would be stupid of you to continue provoking her. She has saved your life although you have tried to take hers. She was the one who figured out where and who Lyell was, but wanted to keep our secret. She just sacrificed her relationship with Salem because she doesn't want to oppose you. I have told you repeatedly to leave her alone. Stop pushing her."

Manfred looked down at his hands and over at me. "You just…make me lose my temper." He said quietly. "This whole time, I thought that you were only doing those things for me because Salem wanted you to. Why would you sacrifice your relationship with him over this?"

"Because I just want peace." I could feel my tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. "Why can't you just be happy with what you have? Why do you have to fight for more? Why do you want my family dead?"

"I think we should tell her." Manfred looked at his father. "She won't say anything. She'll do anything for her family to keep them safe. She can help us with our plan. She isn't like Charlie."

"Salem is gone. If she knows and betrays us, then it's game over." Dr. Bloor raised an eyebrow.

"If I guarantee the safety of your family, will you help us?" He looked at me. I didn't know what to say or how to react. What if he double-crossed me? What if he hurt my family anyway? I had so many conflicting thoughts in my head that I didn't know what to do.

 ** _Let me give you your memories back, you fucking coward._** Salem's voice hit my brain hard and I winced from the pain. **_I've already told you what they're going to tell you anyway._** My head started to hurt so badly that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I covered my face and put my head down, trying to alleviate the pain. I had memories swirling around in my head from whenever Salem and I had been staying with Bart and his family. Salem told me a secret, one that he had taken away from me for some reason.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Bloor's voice was warbled and I could barely understand him through the many thoughts swirling through my brain.

"The mother-of-pearl box." I said out loud, trying to piece things together. "It has a will in it. And the will leaves the academy to Billy. My father was the only person who knew where it was. That's why you want him dead, so he can't remember."

Dr. Bloor and Manfred looked horrified. "You knew?!" Manfred shrieked.

"I did at one point… Salem told me, but he took the memory away. He just gave it back to me for some reason." I felt my face burn red. "He called me a coward."

"You're smart, not a coward." Manfred reassured me. "We need somewhere to keep Billy, just in case your father does remember and comes back. If you help us get Billy out of the way and find the box before he does, nothing has to happen."

"Get Billy out of the way? He's only a child!" I was horrified. I didn't want them to hurt Billy even if it did guarantee that my father and mother would be okay.

"We won't hurt him. That painting in your basement at home, that's where the Enchanter lives. We want Billy to see the painting so that Harken can pull him in and hold onto him for us for a while, at least until the box is dealt with."

Count Harken Badlock, the enchanter that had bewitched my mother and myself, was still alive. We had our suspicions, but this confirmed it. Manfred had told me the other night that Mrs. Tilpin was still alive, so it made sense that they were still communicating with the evil shadow that hid behind the Red King's Portrait. "If I do this for you, I want you to guarantee more than just my family's safety. I want to guarantee mine." I felt disgusting and dirty inside, but if this is what it took to make sure nothing would happen to my father, it was a chance that I was willing to take. "I don't want Manfred to use my endowment for his own personal benefit. I don't want him to force me to do anything. And I don't want to get hurt again. Just because I can heal myself, that doesn't mean that I can't feel pain."

"I think we have a deal." Manfred smiled slyly and held his hand out for me to shake. I hesitantly took it and hoped that I was making the right choice.


	33. Conflicting Opinions

Chapter 33: Conflicting Opinions

Because of the length of the conversation I had in Dr. Bloor's study, I was allowed to head straight to my room instead of going to homework that night. I appreciated the chance to spend some time by myself. I didn't want to be around anyone. As soon as the door shut behind me, I allowed myself the chance to cry for what I had lost. I loved Salem and wanted to be with him, but I loved my family more. If this is what it took to ensure their safety, then this is what I had to do.

My job was a simple one. Charlie had already invited Billy home but I was sure that Maisie, Charlie and Paton would not let Billy go near the painting. I needed to make sure Billy got down into the cellar and I was to lock the door behind him. After that part was done, I would have to corroborate Dr. Bloor's story that Billy went back to the academy once everyone noticed he was missing. They assured me that Harken would take good care of him and I hoped that was true.

Once Billy was out of the picture, I would have to help them find the mother-of-pearl box. I didn't even know where to look. They told me to look out for clues in my father's postcards and look through all of his personal belongings if I could find them somewhere in the house. That would be easy for me, as I had my mother's old bedroom to myself now. Most of her things were still there.

The thought of sneaking around like that made me sick but I reminded myself that I was helping my father. He had a family that needed him. I didn't want to be stuck on my own again. Salem had to understand that. I hoped that he would eventually forgive me and come back. _Why did we ever think that it would work out, anyway?_ I tried to reach out to him. I wanted to hear his voice, even if it was only in my head. I was met with only silence as I turned off the light and curled up under my blankets.

 

There was a bit of excitement when I woke up the next morning. Students were talking about a window that had been shattered in the middle of the night, but I had been so deeply asleep that I hadn't heard it. The window shattering supposedly had something to do with Manfred, but I had no guesses as to what it had involved. When everyone got over the broken glass, they went back to gossiping about the confrontation that had gone down between Salem and Dr. Bloor in the cafeteria, but that had been put to a stop when Dr. Bloor threatened suspension to anyone caught talking about it. It didn't take long for people to notice that Salem was no longer in the academy though.

"Where did Salem go?" Riley asked me during our break in the courtyard. "I haven't seen him all day."

"He left." I said quietly. "We had a fight and he withdrew from the academy and left."

"That sounds a bit…excessive." Riley's forehead wrinkled and he clapped his large hand on my back as a sign of reassurance. "It must have been bad, huh? Are you okay?"

"No, not at all. Riley, I don't think I'm a good person." The weight of the choices I had made was slowly suffocating me. "I agreed to do something really, really bad. I don't think I can tell you about it without putting you in the Bloor's radar."

"I want to be there for you, but I don't think I can protect myself from Manfred. Look at him, he's looking at us." He nudged my shoulder and nodded his head towards the door. Manfred was leaning against the stony exterior of the academy and his eyes were trained on us just as Riley had said. "I don't think you're a bad person. Whatever you may be doing, if you're doing it to keep yourself and your family safe, I don't think that makes you bad."

"What if I'm doing it at the expense of someone else?" I was starting to feel upset again. I didn't want to cry in front of people, but it was getting hard to hold back.

Riley was silent for a moment. I wasn't sure if it was because he was thinking of a way to justify it for me, or if he was so disgusted with my behavior that he didn't want to speak. "You can't save everyone." He said finally. "And no one should expect you to."

"Thank you."

"What are friends for?" He nudged my shoulder again and winked at me. "Just be careful."

When it came time to get onto the bus Friday afternoon, Charlie was running late. I looked out the window and searched for him, hoping that he hadn't gotten into some kind of trouble that would force him to stay behind. "Where's Charlie at?" I asked Fidelio.

"I saw him talking to Tancred. Whatever they were talking about, Charlie looked upset." He joined me in my window search for my brother. "Oh, there he is. He's standing by the green bus." He pointed a finger and sure enough, Charlie was trying to talk to Tancred who only wanted to get on the bus to go home. "He's going to miss us if he doesn't hurry up."

Charlie seemed to have figured this out as well because he ran for the bus and finally boarded just as the driver was ready to take off and leave him behind. "What were you doing? You almost missed the bus." I scolded.

"…My moth. Dagbert took it." Charlie looked wild and panicked. His hair was standing up more than usual.

"What are you talking about?" I felt out of the loop. Charlie hadn't talked to me much since Salem left. I didn't know if he was mad at me for fighting with him or if he was just trying to give me space.

"You had enough going on and I didn't want to bother you, but Claerwen has been missing." He said sadly. "And Tancred said that Dagbert has her and would only give her back if Tancred gave him back the gold sea creature he stole that night we helped Asa escape."

I didn't know what to say, mostly because I knew almost nothing about Dagbert. Everything was hitting me at once, how little I paid attention to the other endowed children and the struggles Charlie endured. I only ever stepped in if someone I really cared about was being affected. I had agreed to help Salem and Asa, and I helped my father. I even helped Manfred, but since I had come to the academy, I stood by while Billy was adopted by horrible people and now I was going to make sure he got sucked into a painting.

"When is Tancred going to make the switch?" I asked.

"He doesn't want to. He thinks that when Dagbert has all of his sea creatures, he's less powerful and less reckless. He thinks there's another way."

"Maybe he's right, Charlie. I wouldn't make deals with Dagbert if I were you. I don't much care for that fish boy." The rumor in the halls was that Dagbert could drown people, and it was a rumor that I had not believed until Charlie, Billy and Asa climbed out of that tunnel in the wilderness soaking wet.

"But I need her to get Runner Bean out of Badlock."

"Charlie, it isn't your fault that Benjamin couldn't control his dog. Please don't risk your life by trying to travel without your moth. You and Billy need to stay far away from that painting."

"But Benjamin will hate me if I don't get him back-"

"If he hates you because of something beyond your control and expects you to risk your life over it, then he isn't your friend." I looked down at my feet and the weight of my own words hit me.

"I'm not like you. I can't just pass the blame onto someone else while my best friend is miserable. I think you're the one who doesn't know what it means to be a friend." Charlie's words both shocked and hurt me. I didn't know what to say.

"What are you talking about?" Riley interrupted. "If you even knew half of the struggles she went through, you wouldn't speak without thinking. You get to play the hero, Charlie. But who do you think is the one who pays the price? I don't recall you being in a coma for months. I don't remember you being in the infirmary. I don't remember you being taken advantage of by Manfred a few nights ago. At what point did you have to leave your home and hide because you feared for your life? Never. Because she's the whipping post. You have no right to fault her for being terrified. Just because you can't see her scars, doesn't mean that they are not there. She's just trying to protect you."

"Sometimes it feels like I don't even have a sister. There's nothing you can say to me to change that." Charlie looked down at his lap. "You don't know anything that has happened to any of us, Riley. I was pushed into all of this just as suddenly as Infinity was. I had no idea any of this existed until one day I woke up and photographs started talking to me. Since I came to this school, I was almost drowned, twice. During the Ruin Game my first year, I was sent into a death trap in the ruins where Asa was waiting to pick me apart. I've almost been attacked by animated stone statues and cut up by cursed papers. I have almost been trapped inside paintings and I have traveled into the past where I watched people die. I'm only twelve years old. This is hard for all of us. The reason I haven't been hurt as bad as Infinity is because I have friends who help me. I don't just rely on one person. I don't sit in the shadows and let things happen to me." Charlie looked at me, "You pushed Salem into picking a side. I think it's time that you actually pick one and commit to it, too."

"I think you should calm down." Gabriel put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I fight with my sisters a lot too, but saying that it feels like you don't have one is harsh on your part, Charlie. Ever since you two found out you were siblings, she hasn't been able to be around much. A lot has happened. But you shouldn't doubt that you love and care about each other. Yes, Infinity should do more to help out everyone else, but she is very much a sister to you. I've watched her stand up to Dr. Bloor and Manfred many times for your benefit, no matter how terrified she is of them. She's always looking out for you."

Charlie frowned. "You're right, Gabe. I think I'm just upset because of Claerwen. I'm sorry, Fin. I didn't mean to get so angry."

I wanted to accept Charlie's apology, but I was too upset to speak. I was exerting all of my effort into blinking back my tears. I didn't say anything to anyone for the rest of the bus ride. Whenever we hit our stop, I walked into the house and went up to my room without saying a word to anyone. I locked my door and curled into a blanket cocoon on my bed. No one bothered me until after the sun went down. There was a knock on my door.

"Go away." I called out.

"Dear girl, you can't wallow in there forever. I wish to speak with you before I leave." Uncle Paton spoke through the thin door. I battled with myself on whether or not I wanted to open the door. Uncle Paton was occasionally gone for long periods of time and I missed him every time he left. Had it been anyone else, I would have sent them away. I stood up with a groan and lit some of the candles around my bedroom as I made my way to the door. I shut off the lights before opening it. Uncle Paton stood with a candle of his own in one hand and a plate of lamb and potatoes in the other.

"I'm not eating that." I grumbled as he stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him.

"Maisie insisted that I bring it up anyways. She is extremely worried about you." He took a seat at my desk and sat the plate down. I sat down at the edge of my bed and faced him. "You shouldn't stay in bed with your uniforms on. They're wrinkled."

"Who cares?"

"You do." He raised an eyebrow. He was right. I attempted to smooth out my shirt but it was a fruitless effort. "I went and bought the camper van. That means I'm going to be gone for longer stretches of time. I'm on the trail of something important, and I need you to keep Charlie and especially Billy, safe. Charlie has informed me that he doesn't know where the moth is, so that means I don't want either of those boys in the cellar."

"Do you really think that Charlie will listen to me?" I frowned.

"It's important that he does. You don't understand now, but I promise you'll know soon. Billy is the most important thing to us now."

"I already know, Uncle Paton." I looked down at my lap. "Billy is the proper heir to Septimus Bloor's fortune. They want to trap Billy in Badlock so they can find the will and destroy it for good. That's why they hypnotized dad."

"What?! Who told you?" Uncle Paton's eyes went wide with a mix of surprise and horror.

"Salem did, a long time ago. But he took the memory away. He gave it back to me though, because Manfred was going to tell me."

"Why would Manfred tell you?" He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Because I'm supposed to make sure that Billy makes it to Badlock. If I make sure that Billy makes it to Badlock and I find the will, they'll leave dad alone." Saying it out loud to Uncle Paton made me feel even worse. "That's why Salem left."

"Infinity..." The disappointment in his voice made my stomach drop. "You need to have more faith in your father. He'll keep himself and your mother safe. Please don't go down this road. I know you want to protect your family but the Bloors need to be controlled. They're pulling dangerous people from the past. My biggest fear was that they would bring Borlath back, but Harken is much, much worse. Harken was the one who made Borlath a monster. We need to deal with this before history repeats itself and innocent people are hurt." He came over to my bed and sat down next to me. "You and Charlie need to stick together. You're both strong, good leaders. If you two can stick together, you'll make it through this. Keep each other safe and stay honest with each other. The Bloors will never tell you the truth. Ezekiel wants your father dead, and he won't stop even after he has the will." He gave me a quick, tight hug. "I know you'll do the right thing. I'm proud of you and the person you have become. Don't let them trap you and change that." With those final words, he left. I sat and pondered my next move.

 

I woke up to the sound of pounding on my bedroom door early the next morning. "I'm not going to let you lay around all day, Infinity Elizabeth Bone! You need to get out of bed, now." Maisie shouted from the other side of the door. I cringed at the sound of my rarely used middle name. Before I could react, the door flew open and Maisie was inside. The first thing she looked for was the plate of food that Uncle Paton had brought up with him the night before. She seemed relieved when she saw the empty plate on my desk that I had begrudgingly ate the night before. To not eat her cooking was an insult in her eyes, and I didn't want to disappoint my grandmother.

I sat up and stretched out my arms. My back cracked loudly and I felt a little bit better. "Don't worry, I'm up."

"Do you know how worried I was about you?"

"I'm fine." I assured her. "Did you speak to Salem at all before he left?"

"That I did." She nodded gravely. "He was quite upset when he left. He told me goodbye but wouldn't tell me where he was going. He wished you no ill-will. He just said that he had to get out of this town. I think getting out of this town would do you and your brother some good too. Now get dressed and come help me with breakfast before the boys wake up."

I never disobeyed Maisie. I got out of bed, took a shower to clean myself up, put on some clothes and went downstairs to the kitchen where I could already hear her already banging pans around on the stove. Whenever Maisie was up, generally everyone else in the house woke up too, with the exception of a normally exhausted Uncle Paton. Despite her asking me for help, she had already cooked mostly everything.

"Set the table, dearie." She pointed over to the cabinet where we kept our plates. I grabbed a few at set the table just as I always did. I could hear Charlie and Billy moving around upstairs. They would probably be down soon. Maisie walked over and put food on all of the plates just as the boys ran downstairs.

Charlie stared at me cautiously from the doorway. "You're up."

"I am." I sat down in my seat and began to munch on a piece of bacon.

Maisie raised an eyebrow. "Why are you two acting so strange to each other? Get in here and eat, Charlie." Charlie obeyed and sat down at his chair. "Did you two have a fight?" Neither of us answered, so she turned to Billy. "Are you going to answer me, Billy Raven? Did they have a fight?"

"Yes." Billy squeaked out before lowering his head.

"My daughters used to fight all of the time. It's part of having a sibling. I know that you are both used to being only children and this is the first disagreement you two have had, but I think you'll get through it and be okay. Just remember to love each other and keep each other safe." Maisie smiled at us. "I have something for you, Charlie. Salem wanted me to give it to you."

My heart dropped. "He left something for Charlie?"

"He left something for you too. He said Paton would know when to give it to you." She shifted uncomfortably. She pulled an envelope off of the stack of mail on the counter that never seemed to disappear and sat it down in front of Charlie. He opened it and pulled out a letter. He scanned it and a smile appeared on his lips.

"What does it say?" I asked, wanting to snatch it from his hands. Charlie handed it to me without a fight and I read over it as well.

_Charlie,_

_No matter how overbearing and bossy she may be, she loves you and wants what is best for you. I know you're mad at her. I am too. But that doesn't mean that she is a bad person. She just needs your love and help to guide her in the right direction. She won't listen to me, but I do know that she will listen to you. And whenever she gets unbearable, which we both know she will, just remember that at least you didn't lose the sibling lottery and end up with someone like Manfred._

_Be safe,_

_Salem._

"Are you ready to help us, Infinity?" Charlie asked softly. "For real, this time?"

"Yeah… It's time." I handed the letter back to Charlie and smiled at him. It was time for me to fight alongside my father and brother and help them that way rather than sneaking behind their backs as a pathetic attempt to save them. Paton was right. Manfred would never be honest with me and my father would never stop fighting until they were put out of power. Manfred, Dr. Bloor and Grandma Bone were right. I would never be a proper Yewbeam or Bloor, but I could be a proper Bone.


	34. Solomon

Chapter 34: Solomon

Charlie and Billy asked me to accompany them on a journey to Piminy Street. There was someone who lived there that they wanted me to meet. It was a woman that ran a kettle shop there who was taking care of Billy's rat Rembrandt while the Ominous's were indisposed. Charlie told me about Mrs. Kettle as we walked down the cobblestoned streets that lead to Piminy Street. She had once given Charlie a kettle that was made by her ancestor, a blacksmith named Feromel. The kettle contained a strange, dark liquid that couldn't be poured away. Whenever the owner of the kettle was in danger, the liquid would get hot to the touch. If the liquid got too hot and boiled dry, that meant that the owner of the kettle was going to die. Charlie promised to show me the kettle whenever we got home from our trip.

"How did the kettle feel this morning?" I asked him.

"It was warm." Charlie admitted.

We turned onto Piminy Street. I had never been there before, but I felt that I had not been missing much. I felt like I stepped through a time machine as we walked through. All of the buildings looked like they had not been touched in hundreds of years. The first building we passed was a very old and decrepit building that had a simple, worn sign that read "Fish Shop". I could smell fish, but the shop didn't appear to be in business.

"This is where Dagbert stays." Charlie informed me. A fish shop was the perfect front to hide a boy like Dabert.

As we walked a little further, I could see another sign attached to another dilapidated building. It was a stone shop and it gave off a very sinister aura. I felt uncomfortable as we glanced at the windows. I turned my head when I couldn't bear to look at the strange and grotesque statues that lived within.

"Eric is in there." Charlie said quietly. I shuddered that the mention of Aunt Venetia's "son".

"Let's go before he brings one of those monstrosities to life." I tugged at Charlie's arm and he seemed to agree. We continued walking until we reached the very end of the dark and bumpy road. The Kettle Shop seemed to be the only building that had lights on inside and had been taken care of. I certainly was not surprised when we walked inside and the walls were lined with various kettles made from different materials. No two kettles seemed to be alike. Charlie led us through the main room and into a smaller room. This room was also full of Kettles, but there was also an old wooden table with four chairs that surrounded it. An antique stove at against the far wall. A kettle sat on its heated surface and as soon as I noticed it, it began to whistle loudly.

"I knew I would see you today, my dears. And you've brought someone new with you." A deep and cheery voice caught me by surprise. I hadn't noticed her in my original scan of the room. She lifted the whistling kettle from the stove and stared at us with her focused amber eyes.

Mrs. Kettle was not what I expected her to be. In all honesty, I was completely in awe of her and couldn't tear my eyes away. She was a very large woman, but she seemed to be mostly made of muscle. She wore a large pair of coveralls and thick leather boots that were splattered with oil. She ran a hand through her short copper hair and wiped away the sweat that was beading at her brow.

"This is my sister, Mrs. Kettle. Her name is Infinity." Charlie smiled at the large woman. "And Billy is here for his rat."

"You'll have to search for him, Billy. You know how much he loves the kettles." Mrs. Kettle gestured to multiple hiding places. "You never told me that you had a sister. Sit down. Make yourselves comfortable. It's a pleasure to meet you." She took my hand in a strong grip and shook it. These weren't the hands of an older woman who owned a kettle shop. These were the hands of a blacksmith. "My name is Katya Kettle."

We sat down at the table while Billy frantically searched the kettles for his rat. He finally found him in a large iron one with a fancy lid. As I watched their joyful reunion, I felt something slither up my leg. When I looked down, I was completely amazed at what I saw. A large, blue snake had coiled itself around what had previously been my leg, but now it was gone. I could still feel it attached to my body, but I couldn't see it. I admired the boa as it traveled upwards. There were feathers mixed in with its scales. "What in the world are you?" I found myself asking it, as if it would answer.

"That's Solomon." Mrs. Kettle answered plainly.

"Solomon?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Did you give him that name?"

"We couldn't just call him Blue Boa forever, could we? I thought that Solomon was the most fitting name for him, being that he is so very wise." She chuckled. "She doesn't know about the snake?"

"She wasn't around whenever we found him. She was in the hospital, in a coma." Charlie explained. "This snake is over a thousand years old. He belonged to the Red King. There's more of a story behind him, but all you really need to know for now is that he can make people invisible."

"He really likes you, Infinity." Billy spoke up. The snake began to hiss. It was amazing to see Billy's endowment in action. I always enjoyed it. "He says you remind him of the princess who was kind to him."

"The King's daughter, Guanhamara." Charlie explained. "I guess Infinity is kind of like Guanhamara, isn't she? She was a witch, too."

Mrs. Kettle smiled kindly at us and sat a plate of cookies down on the table. She gathered up four tea cups and sat them in front of us, pouring us each a cup of tea from one of her handcrafted kettles. Solomon the snake had allowed my leg to reappear and crawled down onto the floor. He seemed to be suddenly disturbed as he weaved his head back and forth, hissing as he did so. He seemed anxious.

"He said that someone came into the shop." Billy explained. We looked around, but there was no way that someone could have walked in without any of us noticing.

"He must be mistaken. Did he say who it was?" Mrs. Kettle furrowed her brow and looked down at the snake.

"He says that he doesn't know." Billy frowned.

I felt uneasy. There was no reason for the snake to lie to Billy, especially when it seemed to respect him so much. I looked over at Charlie. His face was pale and he seemed to be thinking about something. "You've got the stone troll here, don't you?" He asked.

"You bet I have. It has been chained up in my workshop since it attacked that girl and her father. That troll had a venom of its own once Eric brought it to life." Mrs. Kettle shook her head and tapped her fingers nervously on the table.

I didn't like to think of Aunt Venetia's step-son, Eric. He was an evil child. The ability to animate stone was one of the more dangerous endowments I had come across. "I met that troll," Charlie began to tell Mrs. Kettle about the day he had traveled into Badlock. "When it was real. Its name was Oddthumb."

"Met it, Charlie? The troll?" Mrs. Kettle fixed her amber eyes on Charlie. "Have you been traveling again?"

"Yes." Charlie bit into a cookie and began to tell her about the trip that he had taken into Badlock. He had her full, undivided attention. She didn't speak or attempt to interrupt him at all, she was in awe. She didn't even speak when Charlie had finished his story. She just shook her head in dismay.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I began to feel anxious. I didn't know what was going on, but I had the overwhelming desire to flee the kettle shop. My heart was beating loudly in my chest as I scanned the room for whatever hidden danger I seemed to be sensing. The kettles lost their luster and the room was darker. "The shadow is trying to come back. If you know what's good for you, you'll lock your cellar and throw away the key." Mrs. Kettle said finally. "You cannot go back into that cursed painting, Charlie."

"But Runner Bean!" Billy exclaimed.

"You'll forget about him if you're wise." Her face was solemn but I knew her words would mean nothing to Charlie. While he didn't lash out at her like he did me for making a similar suggestion, I could see the annoyance flash in his eyes. "The Stone Shop is occupied again. For years, it has been vacant. But two days ago, I heard a noise. It was the sound of metal on stone. Someone was over there and they were hammering away. I left my workshop and walked down the alley behind the stores. When I looked in the stonemason's yard, there was a man. He was fierce looking with a yellow mustache and a cowboy hat. He said his name was Melmott, but not much else. I fear he is the first of many."

"Of many what?" Charlie asked.

"Magicians." Mrs. Kettle sighed dejectedly. "The street used to be full of them, but by the time I had inherited this place, they had all gone. But now, the wickedness is coming back. It's not just Eric, it's those other children at Bloor's too. The drowner, the poisoner, the magnet, the hypnotist, and then that witch, Mrs. Tilpin. They're getting stronger and we are going to have to watch out for each other. I'm the only one left on this street, the only one who can stop them. I fear for my life. They are going to want me gone."

"I want to see the troll." Charlie interrupted.

"Is that really a good idea?" I asked. I looked over at a metal door hidden off in the corner. I had a feeling that was her workshop and I felt uneasy just looking at it.

"I want to make sure Oddthumb is still there." Charlie pleaded.

Mrs. Kettle sighed and gave in. Charlie followed her over to the workshop but Billy and I stayed rooted to our seats. I had no desire to see the dangerous troll and I was sure that Billy was much too fearful of it. Charlie walked into the workshop bravely, but Mrs. Kettle stayed behind. "Are you satisfied, Charlie?" She called out.

"Yes." I heard him answer, but then there was an earsplitting crack. Charlie screamed and something came flying through the door to the shop. I stood in awe as a hideous statue charged through the doorway and crashed into a table, sending kettles flying in all directions. I panicked and grabbed Billy's arm, pulling him behind a counter where I hoped that we would be safe. As I pulled Billy behind the counter, I saw the stone troll strike down Mrs. Kettle. She hit the ground hard. Charlie ran around the tables and ducked behind the counter with Billy and I.

"I have to go get her. Both of you stay here, don't move." I commanded. I was the only one who was capable of defending myself. I couldn't let Mrs. Kettle be killed by this creature. I waited until it crashed through the main store before I ran towards her body. "I need to get her into the workshop." I yelled. "Before the troll comes back!"

But the troll never had the chance to come back. As Charlie and I began to drag her body into the workshop, I heard the front door squeak. Someone was coming in. There was a deafening crack, and then silence. Charlie left my side to investigate what had happened while I tried my hardest to heal Mrs. Kettle's aching head.

"It's Tancred!" Charlie yelled back to me. "He finished the troll off."

"Can't be sure." Tancred said as he walked through the door. A strong gust of wind followed him as he made himself known. He must have fought off the troll with his stormy endowment. He looked at Mrs. Kettle and I on the floor. "Oh my god. Is she dead?"

"She isn't dead." I snapped at Tancred, not meaning to. A sound came from the main shop that made Tancred and Charlie rush back out to check on the troll.

"It's getting away." Charlie exclaimed.

"Eric!" Tancred yelled out. "Get back here." He went to chase after them but Charlie grabbed his arm.

"He'll go to the Stone Shop. There's no way we can fight him there." Charlie frowned. "We'll need to figure something out."

"I…I think you all should go." I said, looking down at Mrs. Kettle. "I'll take care of her and the shop. If Eric thinks you're all gone and Mrs. Kettle is dead, he won't come back here. It's hard for me to focus on what I'm doing with all of you here anyway."

For once, my brother agreed. Charlie, Billy and Tancred all left the shop. No sooner than they had left, I got Mrs. Kettle conscious again so I could properly heal her concussed head. We spoke not of what happened, but picked up the shop in depressed silence. After an hour of cleaning, Mrs. Kettle finally spoke. "That's quite an endowment you have there. What else can you do?"

"Force fields." I shrugged. "I can summon weapons, too."

"Weapons? May I see?" She asked with piqued curiosity.

I held my right hand out and envisioned a simple little sword. No sooner than I imagined it, a bright swirling light engulfed my hand and I tightened my fingers around a sturdy hilt. My weapons didn't look like normal weapons, they were almost translucent and threaded with a bright, pure light.

Mrs. Kettle's eyes lit up as she watched me. "Do you know how to use a sword, dear?" She asked me. I shook my head. While it was my only means of protection other than my force field, I had no idea how to use it. The day I had summoned a dagger to fight off Manfred had just been a lucky swing. "If you would like, I could teach you. A bound sword like that could be just the thing to cut through stone."

"You know how to use a sword?" I stared at Mrs. Kettle in awe.

"I think that one should be able to use the weapons in which they make, so I did learn. And I think that you should too." She waved for me to follow her back into her workshop. My suspicions had been correct, and Mrs. Kettle was definitely a blacksmith. Her workshop was complete with a forge and beautiful ornamental swords than hung from racks that she mounted on her walls. Instead of grabbing a sword, she grabbed two simple staves. "We'll start off easy, so no one will get hurt. If you wish to take this seriously, I would like you to come see me every Friday and Saturday night. Would that be okay with you?"

I nodded breathlessly and followed her out to the garden behind her shop, ready to learn whatever she had to teach me.


	35. Destroyed

Chapter 35: Destroyed

By the time I had finished my Training with Mrs. Kettle, the sun had set and darkness engulfed the town. I felt uneasy as Mrs. Kettle and I looked up at the pitch black, starless sky. Something wasn't right. Several buildings down, I could hear the sound of stone statues groaning to life. "I don't think you should try to walk home tonight." Mrs. Kettle said thoughtfully. "Why don't you stay here and I'll call your grandmother?"

I nodded in agreement. Piminy Street was not safe at night and Maisie would agree. After Mrs. Kettle finished talking with Maisie on the phone, she showed me her apartment above the shop. Luckily the stone troll had not figured out how to climbs stairs and ruin her home.

Her apartment was mostly plain. She had simple, sturdy furniture and bare walls. I could tell that she didn't spend much time up here, but she did have a spare room. She set out fresh sheets and blankets for me and some clothes I could change in. They were a bit big, but I didn't mind. I would only be sleeping in them after all.

After getting my room ready, I went out to the kitchen where Mrs. Kettle was beginning to put together dinner. I slipped in to help her just like I would with Maisie and I listened as Mrs. Kettle told me about her life. She told me that she had inherited the shop from her grandfather and while he had never branched out beyond kettles, Katya herself had been interested in making beautiful weapons and practicing sword play. She told me about her ancestor Feromel, who her forge had originally belonged to. He was both a magician and a blacksmith who put a bit of magic in all of his weapons.

As we ate dinner over her small kitchen table, I told her everything about myself, from the passing of my father to the awful task that Manfred had put me up to. Although I had just met her, I felt that I could trust Mrs. Kettle with anything. She was a good listener. She was also very kind, selfless and brave. She was someone I could look up to with my parents and Uncle Paton gone. Maisie didn't understand the plight of being endowed, and while Katya seemed quite ordinary, she had a deep understanding and appreciation of the magic arts. "I can understand why you were willing to help them trap Billy. I couldn't imagine being put through the things that you have been put through. I understand why you fear the hypnotist. But they're lying to you. No one is safe in Badlock and they won't stop trying to hunt down your father."

"I know. I already decided not to do it, but I'm fearful of the repercussions. Sometimes I think that Manfred just wants me dead and I don't understand why."

"Because he is a twisted and evil man. You think that you can save him and he thinks that he can control you. I don't think he ever truly wanted you dead, dear. I think he wanted you to be submissive and afraid. But after we're finished with your training, you'll never have to be afraid of him again. You'll be able to fight back." She drummed her fingers on the table and thought for a moment. "Why don't you stay here for a while? We can keep up on your training and you can help me put my shop back together. You'll be far away from that dreadful painting and you can help me keep the stonemason and the Shellhorn boy at bay. If I must be honest, I am quite afraid of what will happen to me if I'm left here alone. It won't take them long to figure out that they haven't killed me."

"I think Eric just wanted the troll back." I said simply. "But I think it would do me good to get out of that house for a while. I don't like being near that painting." I thought about it. "Yes, if Maisie allows it, I will come stay here."

"Splendid." Katya gave me a soft smile. "Why don't you go get some rest? I think you've earned it. I'll clean up and call your grandmother again. We can gather your things tomorrow."

I nodded in compliance. I wasn't sure how keen Grandma Bone would be on the idea, but she generally had more of an eye on Charlie than she did me. She left Maisie the job of keeping up with me. She knew I was pressed hard under Dr. Bloor's thumb and I wouldn't stray far. "She's a well-disciplined girl." I once overheard her say to Aunt Lucretia. Aunt Lucretia had agreed.

I walked back to the bedroom that Katya had prepared for me. The room was small and bare, but I didn't mind. I didn't have much. I only wished that she had a piano that I could practice on. I settled into the twin bed and pulled the covers over myself. I don't know if you can hear me, but I love you. _Goodnight, Salem._ I thought before my eyes closed.

_**Goodnight, Infinity.**_ His deep, but soothing voice filled my head and brought tears to my eyes.

 

I awoke the next morning to the sound of a whistling kettle. I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside stand. It was eight in the morning. My body was sore from the training that Katya and I had done the day before. I still had a long way to go, but it was worth it if it meant that I had a means to defend myself without relying on Salem or anyone else around me.

I slowly got out of bed and pulled on the clothes that I had worn yesterday. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and navigated to the bathroom across the hall. After I felt freshened up enough, I walked into the kitchen where Katya had prepared a basic breakfast. It wasn't anything like the grand breakfasts that Maisie made back home, but it looked rich in protein. I sat down at the spot that was made for me and looked around for Katya. She came around the corner from her bedroom with a smile on her face. "I spoke with your grandma last night. It took a little convincing to get her on board, but she thinks it's what your father would want. We can go get your things whenever you would like."

I looked over at the clock on the wall. "What about after lunch?" I asked. "Grandma Bone should be gone by then. I would rather not run into her."

"That seems like a good enough plan. We can take my truck."

After we finished breakfast, we did a little bit of training. She was trying to teach me form and I was having a hard time with it. I understood why it was important but it was hard to keep my stance wide without thinking about it. "Bend your knees, Infinity. You need to keep your balance, and you have to be fast. You're a small girl. Strength isn't on your side."

"Katya, what are the odds that I'm going to be fighting someone else with a sword?" I asked. She wasn't impressed.

"With all of these magicians coming back, the chance is high. If you're going to do this, you need to commit. Keep your smart comments to yourself." The seriousness of her voice shut me up. She came at me with the staff and I stepped back, looking over my shoulder as I did so. While I was distracted, she lightly jabbed me with her staff. "Don't take your eyes off of your opponent!"

"But how am I supposed to see where I'm going?"

"In a fight, bumping into something is the least of your worries. You'll learn to take in your surroundings. Your stance is wrong. Fix it."

After an exhausting two hours of training, we went right back to trying to clean up the shop until it was time for me to go get my things from my house. Most of her kettles were not salvageable. She would just melt them down again and reshape them. Even if we got everything cleaned up, it would take a long time to remake all of her kettles. Her shop would have to remain closed for a long time.

"Come, dear. It's time to go get your things." Katya looked up at the clock. I nodded and we walked out onto the street to get into her truck. Katya drove an old green pick-up with faded paint. We climbed into the seats and drove our way to Filbert Street. It didn't take us long.

"You can wait here if you'd like. I'm sure Maisie already packed up my things. She gets bored easily when there's nothing else to do, and I don't really have much outside of my things for the academy. I didn't bring much with me when I initially moved here. I didn't think that I would never be able to go back to America." I climbed out of the truck and Katya stayed behind.

Uncle Paton's camper van was still gone. He must have been on the trail of something good. I wondered what all he had discovered on his adventures, but I knew he would tell me eventually.

I climbed up the stairs and opened the door. "Charlie, whatever are you doing?" I heard Maisie yell from the kitchen. I could hear noises coming from the cellar. The door was wide open.

"I'm looking for Rembrandt!" Charlie yelled back. Rembrandt went missing? He never strayed far from Billy.

"Rembrandt? Billy didn't take him with him, then?" Maisie asked.

I was confused. Where had Billy gone? I felt a sickening pit in my stomach. I ran passed the kitchen and down to the cellar.

"Infinity? Is that you?" Maisie called out.

"Where's Billy?" I looked around the cellar and my eyes stopped on Charlie, who was crouching in front of the painting.

"Maisie thinks he's at Bloor's, but I know for a fact that he's in Badlock. When I woke up this morning, he was already gone. Runner Bean was down here, but Billy wasn't. Someone locked Billy down here and I think it was Grandma Bone." Charlie had a sad expression painted over his face. "Today was a disaster."

We walked up the stairs together and shut the door behind us. "What happened?" I asked as I climbed the stairs to get to my bedroom. Charlie followed behind me.

"Aside from Billy being sucked into Badlock? Benjamin and I ran into Eric again today."

"You and Benjamin are speaking again?" I was happy for Charlie, but I knew it was only a matter of time before Benjamin got pissed at Charlie for something again.

"Yes. And we were walking to Ingledew's when we saw Eric. He had a big stone hound with him. And the hound was trying to break down the door to a house. Runner Bean scared him off, but there was still damage done. The house belonged to a retired lawyer. His name was Hector Bittermouse. And he thinks the magicians of Piminy Street are after him for some reason. People are coming back to settle old scores. Hector Bittermouse has a brother named Barnaby and Barnaby was friends with dad. I think that's why they're being targeted."

This was a lot for me to take in. "Piminy Street is becoming very dangerous." I noted.

"Maisie told me that you're going to be living with Mrs. Kettle for now. Do you really think that's safe?"

"Charles Bone, are you really going to condemn me for doing something unsafe?" I raised an eyebrow at my little brother. I got a small smirk from him in response.

Charlie helped me carry all of my things down to Katya's truck. After a big hug from Maisie, she asked me to come back and see her whenever I could. I promised I would and I made my way back to my temporary home on Piminy Street. If there was something I could do to keep the magicians at bay, I would do it. I just hoped that I was strong enough. I spent the rest of my night trying to learn a new protection spell that would stay active whenever I was back at the academy. It took me awhile, but I was able to place a talisman on Katya's door that would keep Eric and his stone abominations at bay. I hoped that it would work. I was good with force-fields, healing, and weapons, but my spell-casting skills were weak.

Upon returning to school on Monday, I was immediately cornered by Manfred when I was making my rounds after the other students were in class. I was forced to threaten detention to many students that day after the word of Billy's disappearance got out. "Billy is in Badlock. You did well." He put his hand on my back and I pulled away.

"I didn't do anything. I wasn't even home." I growled at him. I just wanted him to go away, and I certainly didn't want him to touch me.

"But you didn't warn Charlie and try to stop it. You're every bit as guilty." A sly grin spread across his now clear face. He reached out to grab my wrist but I pulled it away.

"Don't touch me." I snarled. He narrowed his eyes and went to grab me again, but I smacked his hand away. I expected him to get angry, but he didn't. "Manfred, I'm serious. Stop it. Why do you always have to be like this? Why does every single one of our conversations have to escalate into a fight?"

"I don't know." He said numbly. I hadn't been expecting that answer. "I'm sorry." If I hadn't been looking at his lips when he spoke, I would have missed it.

"Excuse me, you're what?"

"I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his long black hair. He looked nervous. "For everything. I'm sorry I ever attacked you. I don't even know why I did it. I get so fucking mad at you sometimes. I get angry that you're a Bone. I get angry that you loved Salem. I get angry because I can't change who I am. I want to be what you think I am, Infinity. But I can't be. Any time I try to approach you in a civil way, I lose control. I hurt you, I take things from you. I almost killed you, but you saved my life. I know you say and do those things because you want peace, but sometimes it makes me think you're one of the only people who actually cares about me. And how do I repay you? The way I repay everyone who thinks that I have a chance to actually be something good. I ruin their dreams, slam their fingers in the door, burn the skin off of their hands, put them in a coma." I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I just stood in silent awe at his emotional outburst. His eyes were wet, but no tears fell. "I hate who I am, but I can't get away from it. The need to be powerful trumps my want for love every single fucking time. I'll just keep taking and taking, knowing that it won't fill the void in my life, but I can't stop. Everything I have is built on wickedness and lies but I'm too selfish to let it go."

"I don't know what to tell you." I was wary of his confessions. Part of me hoped he was sincere, but deep down I knew that he was trying to play me again. "Look, I know you're just trying to mess with me. Stop making me play your stupid mind games. I really can't handle it right now." Students began to leave their classrooms, but Manfred didn't budge. He didn't break eye contact with me, but he wasn't trying to hypnotize me. We stood at the end of the Hall of Portraits where we continued to be jostled by other students, but neither of us bothered to move. "Do you think that I'll fall for your 'Manfred is really a nice guy deep down' routine?"

"No, I don't." He smirked. He wasn't getting angry with me. I was so confused that I just wanted to run away from him. "You're too smart for that. It was worth a shot, though."

"Then what is your plan?" I threw my arms out in exasperated frustration. I wanted to scream at him, shove him into a wall. I wanted to get away but my curiosity rooted me in place. Instead, he laughed cruelly. "You're an insane, vile person. Do you know that?" I yelled at him. "I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone."

"No you don't. Or else you would have stormed off by now." He narrowed his eyes at me and I began to feel even more uncomfortable. I could feel beads of sweat producing on my forehead. "Salem got jealous any time he saw us together. There's obviously something here. I don't know why you keep running from it." Students began to file out of the classrooms so they could go outside for their break, but Manfred wasn't done speaking with me. He didn't budge even when we were surrounded.

"Because you're a psychopath? I have a natural instinct to try and help people. But I really believe that you're beyond saving, Manfred. I don't even want to try anymore. I don't feel drawn to you like I did before. When Salem gave up on you, I did too. I'll keep your secret safe, but I just want you to leave me alone." I turned to disappear in the crowd, but a loud crash from the end of the corridor of portraits turned me back around. The hall parted almost instinctively to let Manfred get to the source of the noise with ease. It took great effort for me to keep up with his strides.

"You better hope that this has nothing to do with that brother of yours." He growled at me.

"I'm sure it does…" I sighed. When we reached the end of the hallway, I wasn't at all surprised to see a group of children surrounding Charlie. There was a painting on the floor and Joshua Tilpin was trapped under it.

"What's going on?" Manfred demanded. He tried to pull the large portrait of Donatella Di Vinci off of Joshua but it was too heavy. I wasn't going to be able to lift it, so I scanned the crowd for someone strong enough to do so. My gaze fell on Bragger Braine, a large second year.

"Bragger, go help him. Now." I demanded. "Charlie, what happened?"

"I shoved Joshua and the painting fell." Charlie looked down at the floor. He hated when I was the one who had to intervene with his problems.

Manfred and Bragger managed to hang the painting back up with minimal difficulty, but now I noticed something that I prayed Manfred wouldn't see. Donatella now had a reasonable sized hole in her forehead. Manfred stepped back to where I was standing to make sure that the painting was hung straight. It didn't take him long to notice the ripped canvas.

His face turned from white, to red, back to white again in the span of a few seconds. His wrath towards Charlie was going to be great and I feared for him. When I saw that he was ready to yell, I laced my fingers through his. A warm light glowed between our fingers as I sent him an aura of calming. I felt disgusting inside, but I didn't know what he was going to do to Charlie. Manfred looked over at me and rubbed his temple with his free hand. "Just… Go to the Headmaster's office." He said calmly. "Now. Get out of my sight before I lose my temper."

Charlie shot me a confused look before slinking off in the direction of the West Wing. I quickly let go of Manfred's hand and tried to escape with the rest of the crowd. _Oh my god, why did I do that? Why the FUCK did I do that?_ I thought to myself. I quickly turned the corner and pressed myself against the wall.

Never in my life had I dealt with boys before coming to the academy. Now I felt like I was in some kind of disgusting teen drama and I wanted to run away from it all. _I learned my lesson, please just come home. I can't do this alone anymore. I silently begged Salem. You're gone and now Manfred is acting weird and I don't feel safe at all._

I was met with silence.

"Fuck you too, Salem." I said out loud. A couple of passing students gave me surprised looks, but kept going. I couldn't catch my breath and the room was spinning. The faces of the people around me just blurred together. I stumbled through the hallway desperate to get as far away as I could from everyone. I didn't want to go to class, I didn't want to see anyone. I went back to my isolated room, shut the door and locked myself inside. There would be repercussions to this, I was sure, but I just didn't care.

I cried. I cried until my head hurt and my throat felt raw. I threw things and punched things and screamed into my pillow at the top of my lungs. I didn't want any of this anymore. I unleashed my anger until there wasn't anything to unleash anymore, and then I laid down into my bed. I just wanted everything to end. I wanted everyone to stop fighting, I wanted my parents and Paton to come home. I closed my eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep.


	36. Angry Storm

Chapter 36: Angry Storm

A loud clap of thunder jarred me awake from my fitful sleep. I saw up and glanced around the room. I was so disoriented, I didn't know what time it was or what was going on. I barely could remember where I was as I looked around the pitch black room. I had slept too long. I searched for the familiar blinking light of my digital alarm clock, but I couldn't find it. The power had gone out. During a particularly bright strike of lightning, I was able to read the hands of the watch on my wrist. It was only dinner time.

The storm began to get even louder, to the point where I realized that this wasn't a normal thunder storm. This was coming from Tancred Torsson. Something was happening and I didn't know what. I reached inside my night stand and pulled out a flashlight that would guide me through the dark, twisting corridors.

The closer I got to the Great Hall, the louder the storm got. Not only was it heavily raging outside, it was inside as well. Something bad was happening. I felt my stomach turn with anticipation. Had something happened with Charlie after he was sent to the Headmaster? Had Tancred decided to give Dagbert his gold sea creature back in exchange for Charlie's moth and something had gone wrong?

I picked up my speed a little bit and ran into the main hall. I was only half surprised to see that I was standing in water and had almost walked directly into Dr. Bloor. "What's going on?" I asked.

He looked down at me with surprised and angry eyes. "Where have you been all day?" He demanded. I went to answer him, but the sound of loud thundering footsteps approaching the landing above the hall drew our eyes elsewhere. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

I had only met Mr. Torsson once. It was after the spell the Enchanter cast over me broke when he was forced back into Badlock. Even if I had never met Mr. Torsson, I would have known that he was Tancred's father just by sight alone. He was at least seven feet tall and every bit as thunderous and boisterous as Tancred. He had a shock of moon-yellow hair and a beard that radiated with electricity. Right now, he had a look of dread on his face. He was holding something, or someone.

"You'll pay for this!" Mr. Torsson roared, raising the boy he carried. It was Tancred. From here I could tell that he wasn't moving or breathing. Electrified water rushed down the stairs and towards the staff. Everyone moved back except me. I couldn't believe this was happening. Tancred was dead and by the look of his face, I knew he had drowned. Dagbert did this.

"Get back, you stupid girl!" Dr. Bloor growled as he yanked me back towards the crowd. "Do you want to get electrocuted?"

"Mr. Torsson!" I called out. "I can fix this-"

"No, you can't." A strong hand came down on my shoulders. It wasn't Dr. Bloor. I looked back to see Dr. Saltweather with a grim expression on his exhausted face. "If he's already gone, no amount of magic can bring him back. Don't let the man have false hope, Infinity. Get out of here before you get hurt."

I didn't want to move. I stayed planted where I was. I couldn't believe that Dr. Bloor would have allowed this to happen.

Mr. Ezekiel wheeled through the water and stared up at the thunder man. "Why should we have to pay?" He shrieked. "Your son obviously made this mess. Must have left the tap running and slipped in the water."

I could feel my blood boiling. If I was this angry, I couldn't imagine how Mr. Torsson felt. "LIAR." He bellowed. Large hailstones rained down on us. Half of the staff screamed and ran for the nearest safe hallway, but I didn't move. Dr. Saltweather shielded his own head and mine. Like me, he wanted to see what would happen next.

Bolts of lightning stripped down the paneled walls, burning the signs above the coatrooms and some of the paintings on the walls. The last of the lights went out and shrouded us in darkness, but I could still see Mr. Torsson thumping down the stairs in between more strikes of lightning. Paintings were knocked off of the walls, furniture blew over and cabinets blew open. Tiny fires started all over the main hall. Dr. Saltweather grabbed my shoulders and tried to steer me away from the danger. I was too awestruck to move on my own. With a final deafening crack of thunder, Mr. Torsson stepped through the large main doors and left us all in the darkness.

Once Mr. Torsson had left, the staff scattered around trying to extinguish the tiny fires caused by the lightning and tidy up the soaked furniture. I caught Dr. Bloor trying to sneak off to his study and I followed him. "Not now, Infinity." He warned.

"No, right now. You're going to talk to me and tell me why you just let that happen." I demanded. I only now noticed that I had tears streaming down my face. "How could you just go and say all of the things you said to me last week about ruining the school's reputation and then go and allow Dagbert to do that? Tancred is dead. And you didn't have enough control to stop it-"

"I'm aware of that!" He yelled back at me. "I'm aware that I have no control over this place anymore. I'm not one of you. I can't even control my sons, so what makes you think I can control a handful of you freaks? I didn't allow anything." Freaks. Is that what he thought of us? Dr. Bloor realized what he said and tried to apologize, but I didn't want to hear it. "Do you think this is the life I wanted? Do you think I wanted Salem growing up resenting me? Do you think I wanted to look at Manfred one day and not even recognize who he was anymore? I know I don't have control. I'm just the face. I'm my grandfather's fucking puppet and once he's dead, I'll be my son's puppet. I don't like any of this any more than you do." He turned back to look at me before walking into his study. "Charlie was suspended tonight. He's going to spend the rest of the week back at home. I didn't want you to worry about him." He slammed the door behind him. I beat my fist off of the door.

"You don't get to run away from this." I called after him. "You need to do something. Someone is dead because you let this get out of control. You brought Dagbert here and he killed someone. A fourteen year old boy is dead because of you. What if that would have been Salem or Manfred? What if you had been in Mr. Torsson's shoes and had to carry out your gray, lifeless son while people taunted you?"

"My sons are already gone." Came his stony reply.


	37. Manfred: Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Manfred's POV

Chapter 37: Emotions

Manfred

I had never asked Dagbert to drown Torsson, but I knew that the blame would be shifted on me. I didn't care what the others had to say. They were irrelevant and I didn't care what happened to them. If they dared to get in my way, then I wouldn't hesitate in trying to stop them. However, I did care about what Infinity thought of me. I found myself caring if she blamed me.

I couldn't make sense of my feelings for her and it bothered me. I had no desire to change who I was, but I did care about what she thought of me. I both adored and loathed how selfless and kind she could be. I never regretted the things that I did to those who got in my way, but I did regret ever hurting her. I hadn't known her then. She was just someone who had stumbled into my life and threatened to overturn everything that my family had built in the last hundred years.

She saved my life and I ruined hers. I was still ruining hers. It hurt me to see the pain and fear in her eyes when she looked at me, but I couldn't keep my hands off of her. Whether it was holding her hand or holding her down, she made me feel good. She made me feel a way that I had never felt in my life. She was like a drug and I understood why Salem had fallen for her as hard as he did.

My feelings for her didn't stop me from wanting Bone and his cronies out of my way, however. While I knew that she would be devastated if harm came to Charlie or Lyell, I needed them out of my way. I wished there was a way to have Infinity to myself and to have her conniving brother and father out of my way, but I wasn't sure that was possible at this time. I couldn't hypnotize her or have the count enchant her, because that wouldn't be the girl that I wanted. I wanted to see her eyes light up when she was excited and see her tears fall when she was upset.

My confessions to her had been mostly true, but I knew deep down inside that she would never believe me. She had admitted that she had once thought that she could save me, that she wanted this to work out just as much as I did, but I had betrayed her for the last time by using her for power. I wanted to try and fix things, to make it up to her, but now she wouldn't speak to me. Not after what Dagbert had done. For two days, she avoided me. She looked right through me with her sunken eyes and tear stained face. Although she had not been close with Tancred, she still cried for her brother's fallen friend. Tancred had saved Charlie, Asa and Billy's lives when Dagbert had tried to drown them in the underground tunnel at my Grandfather's command.

My father told me that she had been there when Tancred was carried out, that she had tried to come forward and offer to save him, but it would have been too late. Dr. Saltweather had been the one to stop her. She couldn't bring people back from the dead. That was dark magic. Whatever she would have brought back wouldn't have been Tancred, at least not fully.

Dagbert needed to be punished, that was for sure. Not only had he taken things too far and killed another student, his water flow had flooded the basement rooms that Fairy Tilpin resided in. If I had to listen to her incessant bitching for another second, I might have strangled her to death. We needed her, though. We needed her to get the Enchanter. We needed the Enchanter to bring our family honor and power. We wanted to make our ancestors proud, and eventually, we wanted to bring Borlath back into this world.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of my office door being opened. I looked up, expecting to see Dagbert as I had summoned him nearly twenty minutes ago. Instead, Infinity stood in front of my desk. Her hair was a mess. While she at least took it upon herself to shower, I highly doubted that she had brushed her hair. Her shirt was wrinkled and the bags under her eyes informed me that she probably had not slept since the night Tancred was killed. While she looked a little wild, I still thought she was beautiful. Seeing her made my heart race. I needed to control myself.

"Do you think you can just barge in here without knocking?" I scolded her. I didn't want her to think I was as excited to see her as I really was.

"Fuck you." When the words came out of her mouth, I was surprised. She was generally mild-mannered and polite. She followed all of the rules of the academy perfectly and she knew profanity was forbidden, especially when directed at a staff member. I felt my mouth twist into an amused smirk. I liked this feisty side of her.

"I didn't put him up to it, you know. If that's what you came here to yell at me about, I'm afraid you're wasting your breath. In fact, he was the one I was expecting. He's going to be punished."

"But not for what he did to Tancred. I know you just see it as collateral damage. One of Charlie's most powerful friends is out of your way. I'm sure you're feeling very confident with Salem, Asa, Billy and Tancred gone. I know that you don't see me as a threat, but know that from here on out, I am your enemy. I will do everything in my power to stop you and make sure that Billy comes back and you lose everything. I don't want peace. I want to see you suffer as you made others suffer. I'm going to tell Charlie what's in that box."

I couldn't help but to laugh at her threats. She knew that if she told anyone, that it would be the end. "Where is your confidence coming from? You're on the losing side. What makes you think I am going to let you leave here after telling me your plan? I thought you were supposed to be a genius, Infinity?" I stood up from my chair, half expecting her to run. She didn't move. She stood as still as a statue and didn't look away from my eyes. She had to have known that my hypnotist powers had come back, but she wasn't afraid of me. "Why aren't you afraid?" I asked her.

"I have finally embraced my magic. I've been studying and practicing. I'm stronger than you." She held her hand out, all of her finger tips pointing towards me. They were glowing with the familiar soft glow that came with her magic. I felt as if I had been struck by something.

A loud, high pitched ringing noise filled my head. I hadn't been expecting it and it dropped me to my knees. My vision went black and I couldn't see anything. The pain was so excruciating that I couldn't gather any of my thoughts. I thought that it was going to last forever. The high pitched ringing was backed by whispers. I couldn't fully focus to be able to tell if it was Infinity's voice or not.

The darkness dissipated and I shrunk back from the sudden bright light that filled my eyes. "Manfred?" I heard a voice try to pull me back into reality. "Are you alright?"

My eyes focused and Dagbert was knelt down beside me. "What's going on?" I asked. "Where am I?"

"We're in your office. I came just like you asked me to. What happened? I passed Infinity Bone as I was walking here. Did she do something to you?"

Infinity Bone? Things were starting to come back to me. Had she been here? I looked around the room. I was sitting at my desk. I must have fallen asleep and had a nightmare that disoriented me. "Why would she have been here?" I asked him.

"I…I don't know, sir. Sometimes it seems like something is going on between you two. I thought I saw you two holding hands the other day, when Bone knocked the portrait off of the wall."

I looked down at my hand, the one Infinity had held. I vaguely remembered it. I was having a hard time remembering the last few days. The stress of everything happening must have been causing gaps in my memory. I did, however, remember why I had called Dagbert to my office. "That's not what we're here to talk about. We're here to talk about your punishment?"

"Punishment?" Dagbert looked upset, but I didn't care. "For what?"

"Now you're being stupid." I liked Dagbert, but I didn't like when people played dumb with me. He was starting to make me angry on top of the frustration I was already dealing with. "The flood. Fairy Tilpin is angry and I've had to listen to her bitch about being relocated for the last two days."

His glacial eyes looked around the room. "It's a big house. Put her in the west wing."

"First you destroy a part of my property and then have the nerve to tell me to put her in our personal quarters?" I narrowed my eyes at Dagbert and I could see him becoming uncomfortable. "I'm disappointed in you, Dagbert. I thought we had an understanding. I'm afraid you're getting detention. The headmaster has ordered it. No going home on Friday. You killed him. You weren't supposed to do that. You were only supposed to scare him. What possessed you?"

Dagbert looked away from my eyes and down at his feet. He was smart enough to know that I could hypnotize him if I wanted to. "I couldn't stop myself." I had to strain to hear his quiet voice. "I suppose I was trying to prove that I was as strong as my father."

"Ah, the family curse." I had almost forgotten. "You believe it, then?

"I have to. It's written in the annals of the North, and they have never lied. When the Lord Grimwald's first son is in his thirteenth year, he attains full power and either he or his father dies. In eight hundred years the prophecy has never failed. My mother gave me the sea-gold charms to help me overcome my father. But Tancred…he got under my skin." He clenched his fists. "He stole a sea-gold creature. He taunted me. He had to be stopped!"

I began to feel guilty about my anger towards Dagbert, but even that excuse wouldn't be enough to appease Infinity. She would still be furious, maybe even more so. "You shouldn't have done it though. You'll have to make amends with Fairy."

"I'll clean out a room for her or carry her stuff upstairs, if you like." Dagbert offered. I had to give him effort for trying.

"Good idea. I daresay we can find somewhere in the attics. She seems to like the dark. You can go now." I dismissed Dagbert.

"Thank you, sir." Dagbert walked over to the door, probably grateful that his punishment had not been worse. "I always try to do what you want. Always."

"I know you do." I smiled at him. "And very soon you'll be called upon to perform the hardest task of your life. Until the time comes, I need you to keep an eye on Charlie Bone." I thought back to a few nights ago. Dagbert and Dorcas had successfully captured Charlie Bone's wand/moth, but I hadn't taken into account that the wand was crafty and it had bested me a second time. The moth had shattered the jar I was keeping it in, and I was almost positive it made its way back to Charlie.

"A picture traveler?" Dagbert snorted. "What can he do?"

"Don't underestimate him." I warned. "The blood of a Welsh wizard runs in Charlie's veins. And something tells me that he has reclaimed his wand."

"What about his sister?" He raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Yes, she's very strong, but in a different way. Infinity is only capable of healing magic. The wand, however, doesn't respond to her. It only responds to one magician and it has picked Charlie. If Infinity becomes a problem, then I can handle her." I stood up from the desk. "In fact, I don't want any of you engaging her at all."

Dagbert raised a suspicious eyebrow at me but I knew that he would respect my wishes.


	38. A Giant Out of Time

Chapter 38: A Giant Out of Time

Infinity

I looked at myself in the mirror after I had used my magic to cause harm for the first time in my life and wondered if the change would be immediate. I felt guilty and empty afterwards, but it was something that needed to be done. Billy needed to be rescued from Badlock and the Bloors needed to be stopped before they allowed the Enchanter back into this world and more people were killed. I ran my hand over my face, but there were no wrinkles. My eyes were the same hazel color that they had always been and my hair was still blonde. Nothing looked different. I just felt guilty inside and swore that I would never use my magic like that again.

I washed my hands and left the bathroom hoping that no one else would be able to tell what I had done. I knew that I had hurt Manfred when my spell sucked the memory from his head, but I had walked way. He deserved the pain but if I fought the way that they did, then I wasn't any better. I hoped that I had gotten rid of the memory for good because I planned on telling Charlie everything. It was time for us to act and if I was going to find Septimus' true will, I would need help.

I got through the rest of the week without any issues. Manfred didn't seem to have any more animosity towards me than usual and my body wasn't changing at all. I wondered if witches and magicians only started to deteriorate after extensive use and not just from one simple spell or curse.

I was grateful to get away from the academy and everyone else. I wasn't ready to go home and face Charlie yet, so I went back to Katya's to tell her about the week. I told her my plan to tell Charlie everything and to finally stand up and fight against the Bloors. That night, she made me train harder than she did the week before. My skills were enhancing rapidly and I felt regret for all the time I wasted being in denial about what I could do instead of training myself and protecting my friends.

I spent Saturday training as well, going until my body was ready to give out on me. I did double the training so I could go see Charlie on Sunday and tell him everything that was happening. "Infinity, you're working very hard. But I think I need a break." Katya said breathlessly after our evening training session. We sat down in the kettle shop. While it had been cleaned up and looked better than it had when I left for the academy on Monday, she still didn't have any replacement kettles. The shop looked forlorn and bare. "How are you feeling, dear? You shouldn't overwork yourself."

"I know, but I have so much time to make up for. I should have been doing this sooner." I looked down at my blistered hands. I knew I could heal them, but I felt that I needed the discipline. "It shouldn't have come to this."

"You were a child thrown into an adult situation. You shouldn't beat yourself up." Katya said reassuringly. She went to speak again, but something stopped her.

"What were you going to say?" I asked. She held up her finger to silence me. She was listening for something. I listened too. I could hear shuffling and running. Something big was going on and I wondered what it was. We went over to the window and I saw a woman running down the street followed by the distant sound of angry, murderous voices.

"That woman is in trouble." Katya said, rushing out the door. I watched her seize the mystery woman by her waist. The woman screamed but Katya carried her into the building anyway. "I'm rescuing you, my dear. Not murdering you." Katya tried to explain to the thrashing woman. When the woman noticed me standing there, she stopped moving.

"Infinity?" She asked. While I thought I recognized the voice, I couldn't place her. She quickly reached up and snatched a wig off of her head and her straight, straw colored hair came down. "It's me, Benjamin's mother."

"What?" I was confused. "What are you doing out here by Piminy Street? And why were those people chasing you?"

Mrs. Brown began to tell me about Charlie coming to her with a problem. The painting that held Billy had gone missing so Charlie went snooping through Grandma Bone's room. Charlie had come across a card, which Mrs. Brown handed to me. It was postcard sized and read Meeting of sympathizers to our cause. The Old Chapel, Piminy Street, Saturday, 8pm. TT. Bring card. Mrs. Brown decided to dawn a disguise and go see what this meeting was about and get some clues about Billy's disappearance, but nothing could prepare her for what she saw. Titania Tilpin was there along with a large group of grim, unfriendly magicians and sorcerers that had been hiding dormant in the city. She admitted to everyone that Billy was in Badlock and they were keeping the painting in the Old Chapel. Mrs. Tilpin was close to finding a way to have the Enchanter come back into our world. She was making progress with repairing the mirror of Amoret.

The longer Mrs. Brown story went on, the later it got. "You should go up to bed. You have a lot to do tomorrow." Katya said as she looked at the clock. "I have a feeling that you're going to need to accompany your brother to the old chapel tomorrow and you need to be in top form."

I suppressed my yawn but agreed. I went up to my bedroom and crawled into bed. I was ready to face whatever adventure I would go on.

When I went downstairs the next morning, I could hear the loud clang of a hammer against hot metal in the workshop. Katya appeared to be working on more kettles for her shop. I wondered if she had bothered to eat breakfast. I didn't want to bother her while she worked so I sat down at the lone table and began to polish the few kettles that were left along with some of the new ones she had made. After an hour of polishing, I heard the jingling of bells from above the shop door. I wasn't at all surprised to see Charlie.

"You haven't been home all weekend." He said accusingly. "I really needed to talk to you."

"I've been training." I said calmly. "You and I do need to talk though. Could you please sit down?" I looked over at an empty chair.

"I don't really have the time, Infinity. I have somewhere to be."

"The Old Chapel. I know. I talked to Mrs. Brown already. What I have to tell you is something that you need to know before you go get Billy in Badlock. You need to know why they're holding him there in the first place. Please… Sit down." He hesitated, but eventually sat down. "Back whenever Salem and I were hiding out in the wilderness, he told me the Bloor Family's best guarded secret. When Septimus Bloor died, he left everything he had to his daughter Maybelle, not Beatrice or Bertram. This made Beatrice very angry so she killed Maybelle, but not before Maybelle could hide her father's will and leave everything to her family. She hid the will in a Mother-of-Pearl inlaid box and the box was passed down through her descendants. There was no way to open the box but they knew what it contained. There was nothing they could do about it. Maybelle's lineage is the Raven family. Billy's parents gave the box to dad for safe-keeping." Charlie's mouth dropped open but I kept talking. I needed to get everything off of my chest. We couldn't have secrets. "After Salem told me this, we found out that we needed to come back here so he erased my memory to protect me. The day Salem left, Manfred wanted to make a deal. He told me that if I helped him with something, he would leave dad alone and everything would go back to normal. When he was getting ready to tell me all of this, Salem gave me my memory back. Manfred told me it was my job to make sure Billy got into Badlock and that I needed to try and find the box. …I agreed. He swore that Billy would be safe in Badlock and no one else had to get hurt."

"What?" Charlie said angrily. He slammed his fist down on the table. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I thought it would help us." I snapped back. I knew Charlie would be angry, but I was still annoyed tha the didn't let me finish. "I decided against it at the last second and I stayed with Katya that night instead. I thought that you would listen and stay away from the painting, but Billy went without you." I looked down at the kettle I was polishing and felt sick to my stomach. "Then Tancred was killed and I couldn't take it anymore. I went to Manfred's office and I told him off. I screamed at him and I told him I hated him and that I was going to tell you everything and then… I cursed him. I used dark magic and stole his memories of me knowing. He suffered through every second and I left him passed out in his office." I buried my face in my hands. "I know it doesn't make me better than them, but I wanted to undo the harm I caused. I want to help you get Billy back and I want them to lose everything they stole. I've been training and studying and trying to become stronger. I want to fight this fight with you."

I heard the loud groan of the workshop door as Katya forced it open. Her coveralls were caked in soot and ash and she was holding a large pair of pliers in her hands. "I guess that means you two plan on going to the Old Chapel together."

Charlie glared at me with resentful eyes. I didn't blame him, but I hoped he believed I was sincere now. "Yes." He said finally. Katya sat the large pliers down on the table in front of him.

"You two need to watch each other's backs. You'll need Solomon too. He'll keep you invisible and safe in Badlock." She plopped Solomon down on the table too. He crawled over to me with a happy hiss and wrapped around my wrist. "I'm afraid I can't go with the two of you. I'll draw too much attention, but you two are small enough to be stealthy. Please be safe. Protect each other. I'll stay far enough behind to keep an eye on you." She slipped a lock pick in my hand before she backed away.

With Katya's blessing and wise words, Charlie and I walked up the street and towards the old chapel. It was every bit as crumbly and dilapidated as the rest of the street, but I could actually feel the evil in the thick, musky air. It made it difficult for us to move or breathe. Every part of me wanted to turn back and run, but this needed to be done. We had to bring Billy back.

Much to my surprise, the church doors weren't locked. I had been looking forward to using the large pliers, but it seemed that I wouldn't need them or the lock-picks that we had brought with us. When we stepped through the ruined doors and around the half-broken pews, I caught a glimpse of the painting on the stage.

"There it is." I whispered. I lifted Solomon from my neck and placed him on Charlie's. I took a step forward, then found that I couldn't take another. "What? I can't move?" I frowned. The feeling of danger and dread began to make my heart and stomach sink to the floor. Tears pricked my eyes and threatened to overflow. This was a bad place and the evil was trying to protect the painting.

Charlie took a step towards the painting as well. The same fate befell him. "I can't move either."

"She must have cursed this place." I murmured under my breath. I didn't want Claerwen to waste her strength here, so I mumbled a blessing. Charlie looked at me in horrified awe.

"What language is that?" He asked once I had finished and we were able to continue across the floor.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I found an old spell book bound in red leather deep within the library shelves at the academy. I don't even know what I'm saying most of the time. My brain or my heart or wherever the hell my magic comes from seems to know what kind of spell I need, when I need it and what to say. Most of the time, it's good magic, but what I did to Manfred wasn't good. My anger must have taken control."

Charlie accepted my answer without any more questions and we continued onward to the painting. The closer I got to the painting, the more terrifying and dreadful everything seemed. I didn't want to go into the painting. I looked over at Charlie who was holding the boa and whispering something. I couldn't quite understand him until I realized that he wasn't speaking English. I recognized the language as Welsh. While I never learned to speak it, it was Ailwyn's native langue. I wondered if Charlie's magic language came to him just as mine did. "Infinity, I don't think we can both go in." Charlie said quietly.

"I don't think I can either." I admitted as I stared at Claerwen. Their magic together was stronger than mine. I wouldn't be able to pass the barrier that the Shadow had created. "Just go and get Billy. I'll wait here for you." I reassured him.

He gave me a quick, reassuring hug before the painting sucked him in. I sat down on the stage and waited. I took in my surroundings just in case Charlie and I had to make a hasty escape. There were holes in some of the walls. They didn't lead to the outside but they would be good to hide in. I was small enough to fit.

I sat in silence and waited alone for about fifteen minutes before I heard footsteps. "Someone is here. I sense it." Came an angry voice. I panicked and didn't know what to do. I ran and hid in a hole in the wall that I had just noticed minutes before. It was a tight squeeze, but I managed to conceal myself.

"The boy was probably here. His essence is lingering." Said one of the voices. It sounded deep and angry and ancient, but I was positive that the woman it belonged to was Titania Tilpin. I couldn't see her, but I listened intently. "Idiot child came alone. We'll just have to ambush him when he comes out."

"I sensed two people. And the other one is still here. It's a girl." The second voice croaked. She sounded like she had smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day since she was a child. Just listening to her speak made my own throat dry.

"You may have sensed his wand, Dolores." She spoke so condescendingly to her accomplice that I wondered why people followed her. "No one else could have gone into the painting with him. The girl isn't strong enough. Nor is she brave enough to linger here."

"You're probably right." Dolores sighed.

I leaned further back against the wall in an attempt to make myself more comfortable. If this woman had second sight but believed she was sensing Claerwen, then I was safe. There was no reason for me to freak out. Except for the fact that Charlie and Billy would be ambushed whenever he came back. I had to come up with a plan before more "sympathizers" showed up.

We could always try a force field and dash through them all to safety, but I didn't know how that would help in the long run. We hadn't thought this plan through. I should have told someone where we were going other than Katya. I didn't know what kind of endowments these people had or what I was going to do. I had stupidly left my phone behind at Katya's and I was paying for it now. Charlie would be coming back to certain doom.

Footsteps echoed through the church as other people came to Titania and Dolores' aid. "Is there a reason you're calling me at this time? I have important things to do, Titania." Manfred barked. His voice made my blood turn cold.

"Bone is in the painting. He's trying to get the boy out." Titania waved her arms. "I don't think the Enchanter can sense him, nor do I think Billy Raven will want to leave, but this is our opportunity to get what we need."

"Did he go in alone?" Manfred asked. "How long as he been in there?"

"I believe it was just him, and it's been about twenty minutes." Dolores said. "I'm sensing someone female, but Titania believes that it's actually the wand. It's a very light, pure magic that I'm feeling." She walked close to my hiding spot and touched the wall. "I'm not entirely convinced."

I hoped Charlie would come out soon before I lost my nerve to try and escape. I doubted that I would get that far with Manfred there, but I had to do something. There was a loud squeak that disrupted my thoughts. I glanced over and saw the most vile, angry rat. The urge to scream washed over me but I held it in. "Infinity?" Manfred called out to me. His voice didn't have the venom in it that it usually did. "If you come out now, then I won't punish you. I'll let you go and we'll pretend this never happened." He knelt down next to my hiding spot in the wall and I clamped my hand over my mouth to try and hide my breathing.

"I thought you said that she wasn't brave enough to stand against us?" Titania snapped. "You said she was helping."

"She was. I just don't think Charlie would have gone inside without his moth. The magic Dolores is sensing sounds like Infinity's." I could hear him walking away from the wall.

"Oh, I think they're coming back." Dolores said suddenly. "He's not alone, but it's not the boy… He's coming back with…a giant?!"

"Fuck." I whispered. I knew Charlie had wanted to save Otus, but I didn't know what we were going to do with a giant.

With a loud crash, I knew Charlie had come back, albeit invisible. What I assumed were Otus's feet crashed through the floorboards. The church rumbled with a frightened wail. "WHERE ARE WE?"

I came running out of my hiding place with my sword in hand. Manfred had tried to grab me, but missed. I was faster. I didn't know how far I would get, but I hoped I would buy Charlie and Otus enough time. I ran in front of their invisible forms with my sword held high. "You." Titania pointed a finger at me. I had known Miss Chrystal as a beautiful woman at one point, but this was not her. Everything about her was dark and gloomy. Even her voice had changed. Her once beautiful blonde hair was an oily silver. Large bags drooped her eyes and her cheeks sunk into her skull. I swung my sword at her and she shrieked and jumped back. "Manfred, do something!" But Manfred was just as dumbstruck as everyone else.

"You were supposed to bring back Billy." I yelled back at my brother. I noticed that he was starting to become visible again as Solomon hugged him in fear.

"Plans changed. Otus, grab the yelling one and let's go!"

An invisible arm wrapped around my midsection and lifted me into the air. Although I knew it was coming, I still panicked anyway. Otus carried us through the front door with a hoard of angry people following behind. "Charlie, do something." I begged. I was too scared and knew my magic wouldn't work right and had the chance of backfiring.

"Aros!" He called out. To my amazement, everyone froze in place. I couldn't believe my eyes. I could see them slowly gaining back motion but this would give us the head start that we needed. "I don't think they'll stay like that for long. We have to get away from here, and fast."

"And how are we going to get an invisible giant through the streets on a busy Sunday?" I snapped at him as Otus sat us back down on the ground.

"Don't talk about him like he's not here, Fin. That's rude." Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Otus." I said to what I thought could be the giant's face. I wasn't sure, though. Our argument was interrupted by the honking horn of a camper van. It was Uncle Paton and he looked angry at us. "You and Otus go with Uncle Paton. I need to get back to Katya and tell her that we're okay so she doesn't come looking for us."

Charlie ran for the van and I ran in the opposite direction towards the Kettle Shop. I was relieved to hear the van speeding away, but I didn't know how Uncle Paton would react to who Charlie had brought back with him. Otus was a giant 900 years out of his time and as far as I knew, Charlie didn't have a plan for him.


	39. A Surprise Visitor

Chapter 39: A Surprise Visitor

As we drove through the busy city towards Filbert Street, I held Solomon's basket in my lap. Katya was anxious to not only get him back, but to meet the giant as well. While I was curious as to what Otus actually looked like, I wished that Charlie had thought through his plans more carefully.

The sun was shining today and many people were out doing their shopping around Cathedral Square. I hoped that Uncle Paton didn't have a hard time driving through the city. While I was grateful for the rescue, I wondered how he knew to be at the right place at the right time. The fact that we only escaped out of pure luck bothered me.

When the truck came to a stop in front of Number 9, Katya practically jumped out of the car with excitement. She didn't wait for me as she went right to the front door and knocked. Maisie had already answered by the time I reached the top step. She was shocked to see us and I thought I saw panic in her face. "What's wrong, Maisie?" I asked. She didn't answer me, she just pulled me into a tight hug and asked me if I wanted to get something to eat in the kitchen. "No, I'm fine. I want to see Otus first."

The panic set in on her face again. "Paton! You have visitors!" She yelled up the stairs. "It's Infinity and Mrs. Kettle." Everything about her seemed awkward and anxious. I felt bad that I hadn't been home and she had to deal with all of the terrible things that had been happening lately, but I would have to wait to talk to her about them later. I ran up the stairs behind Katya.

When we walked in the door, I was amazed to see an almost 8 foot tall man sitting on Uncle Paton's bed. I was in awe at how people so large had once existed in this world. Charlie had even once told me that Otus was short for a giant. While his height was extraordinary, everything else about Otus was tired and sad. Wisps of thinning white hair clung to his head, and a large white beard cascaded way past his chest. His face was lined with wrinkles and he had large bags under his hooded black eyes. I was only able to tear my eyes away from him when I felt fabric brush against the backs of my arms, as if something was trying to squeeze by me. When I turned to look, Charlie yelled my name and sprung off of the bed. It caught me off guard. "You used a sword!" He exclaimed. "You ran in front of us like it was nothing. I think that is the coolest thing I have ever seen you do."

I felt a blush creep to my cheeks. It felt good to take change. I grew tired of running away whenever things got tough. I foolishly thought things would get better and sort itself out, but the Bloors continued to push and shove and take whatever they wanted. Now, it was time for me to be brave just as Charlie and my father were. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. But you were supposed to bring Billy back. Were you unable to find him?"

"No, I found him." Charlie shuffled his feet and pushed the door behind me closed. "He didn't want to come back. I think he's enchanted like you and mom were. I tried my hardest to get him to come home with me, but I wasn't able to convince him."

"I wish I could say that we'll get another chance, but I'm positive they'll make the painting even harder to access after what we just did." I sighed. "Manfred is going to kill me whenever we go back to school."

"Manfred Bloor isn't going to lay a finger on you." Katya said sharply as she plucked Solomon from the giant's lap. "If he does, you cut them off. Do you understand?" She turned her focus to Charlie. "In all the excitement, I forgot to tell you both something very important. Gabriel Silk's petition to reopen the Pets' Café has gotten so many signatures that the Onimouses will likely be successful."

I had expected Charlie to be happy about the news, but instead he looked absolutely panicked. "Oh, no. I just remembered something." He turned to look at me. "When we were fleeing the chapel, did you see Norton Cross?"

"Who?" I frowned. The name wasn't ringing a bell.

"The doorman for the Pets' Café. He must be one of the shadow's followers. He may have even caused the Onimouses' accident."

I hadn't studied the faces of the others chasing us, for I hadn't heard them speak. I had only focused on the woman with second-sight, Mrs. Tilpin and Manfred. I vaguely remembered the café's former doorman. He was a very large man that often wore shirts with funny animal prints on him. Why hadn't I noticed him there? Katya had told me to be aware of my surroundings at all times, but I had just charged into the fray with my sword raised. If that man would have gotten a hold of me, it would have been the end. I shuddered at the thought.

Katya comforted Charlie the best she could. "We'll just make sure he doesn't go back there, my dear. It will be okay."

"You don't understand," Charlie's hands flew up into his tangled hair. "I told Mr. Bittermouse to contact Norton, to help repair his door. I put him in danger."

"He was already in danger, Charlie. They weren't trying to beat down his door for no reason." Mrs. Kettle said. "We'll make sure he's safe. Infinity and I will go over there right now so you don't have to worry about it. You have enough on your plate." She eyed the giant that seemed to be staring off into the distance. "I mean no offense, Mr. Yewbeam, but I'm sure Charlie is making plans for you."

"Charlie is always making plans." I eyed my younger brother. I wondered how he would get out of this one. While he wasn't the smartest kid, he was definitely one of the most resourceful ones.

"He's taking me to see my wife." The giant said.

If Katya was as surprised as I was, she didn't show it. "That's wonderful." She put her free hand on my back as a way to tell me that we were leaving. "We'll be off now and let you get on with things. Good luck."

We left the room and she shut the door quickly. "You're really not going to let me see how this plays out? You know who is wife was, right?" I whined.

"We're needed somewhere else, dear. I'm sure that Charlie will tell us all about it when he comes back. Right now, we need to go talk to the Onimouses and possibly Mr. Bittermouse."

After a quick goodbye from Maisie, Katya and I left the house. As we walked towards her truck, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a shadow running behind the house. I stopped walking and stared. Had someone from the chapel followed us?

"What are you looking at?" Katya asked me, clutching Solomon's basket closer.

"There was someone there." I insisted. "Keep an eye out on the other side of the house. I'm going to go find out who it is." With a low murmur and a bright light, I summoned my sword so I could protect myself against whoever I would find. I made my way around the house, but never found anyone. Was I just imagining things?

"You're just paranoid because of how the day has gone. You checked and nothing was there, so there's nothing else you can do." Katya headed back towards the truck and I had no choice but to follow.

We went to the home of Hector Bittermouse first, but he was not home. It seemed that his porch and door had been repaired, though. Had he contacted Norton Cross after all? I hoped that he was okay, but there was nothing we could do if he wouldn't come to the door. Katya decided that when we got home, she would call the police and have them do a welfare check on him.

The Pets Café had been empty as well. There was nothing else for us to do and I had missed whatever adventure Charlie had in mind for nothing. "There will be plenty things for you to do in the future, I'm certain." Katya ruffled my hair. "Why don't you train tonight?"

So I trained. I trained until my arms were tired and my hands bled. I didn't stop until the sun sank behind the trees and the moon took its' place high in the sky. Even though hours had passed, I heard nothing from either Charlie or Uncle Paton and I was beginning to worry. Otus had said that Charlie was taking him to his wife, Amoret. As far as I knew, there were no paintings of the King's children.

When I awoke the next morning, I immediately called Maisie. She informed me that they still hadn't returned home, but she was able to tell me where they were going. They had gone to the Castle of Mirrors and it made my heart sink. The sickening feeling went away almost immediately, though. Maisie then informed me that Paton and Charlie had completed their task and would be on their way home after they got some rest.

I didn't wish to train at all, so I spent the day polishing kettles and descending into boredom. Katya was too busy working at her forge, Salem was still lost to the world, and Charlie was gone. I was finally saved from my boredom when the familiar jingle of the bells above the door rang through the store.

I briskly put down the kettle I was polishing and stood to my feet, peering over the shelves to see who had come to visit. I was greeted with a familiar head of dreadlocks and kind bright eyes. For the first time since Tancred's death, I was seeing Lysander Sage smile. "Infinity! Are you doing anything tonight?" He asked me, eyeing the kettles that I had abandoned.

"No." I said almost too quickly. "Did you want to hang out or something?"

"I wanted to invite you to a celebration. Right now, actually. My dad is waiting out in the car." He jutted his thumb towards the door behind him. I was surprised he wanted to celebrate anything after the week he had, but if this was enough to let Lysander smile for just a little bit, then I wanted to be there. He had been a good friend to me and I wanted to return the favor.

Katya was fine with me leaving as long as I was in the company of someone she deemed fully capable of keeping me safe. After changing my clothes, I followed Lysander out to the luxury car that Judge Sage had parked outside of Piminy Street.

While Lysander embraced a lot of his ancestors' culture, Judge Sage was a straight laced man. He kept his head immaculately shaved, his facial hair closely groomed, and his clothes were always carefully ironed. He was a kind and warmhearted man, but his position still made him intimidating. He had tried to fight for me when I had been attacked, but the Bloor influence had been too strong, even for him. "Good evening, Infinity. It's nice to see you in good health."

"It's nice to see you too, sir." I said meekly from the back seat.

I had been expecting us to go into the Heights, mostly because that's where Lysander lived. I was confused when we passed the large, sprawling house that belonged to them and headed up towards the Thunder House. Lysander had said that he was having a celebration, not a memorial or a funeral. Suddenly, I felt that everything about me was wrong. Should I have worn darker colors? Should I have spent more time on my appearance? I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The thought of facing Mr. Torsson after I had been useless in saving Tancred made me feel guilty.

We pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Lysander and Mr. Sage were quick to get out, but I wasn't. Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill down my face. I wasn't prepared for this. I silently followed them into the eerily quiet house. There were no turbulent wind storms, no booming thunder. I didn't say anything as we walked into the dining room. I looked around at everyone present. Gabriel was there, along with Emma, Fidelio and Olivia. They were all smiling strangely and I felt uncomfortable until someone grabbed me around the waist and practically threw me up in the air. I let out a loud shriek and as a reflex, threw my head back to disorient my assailant. My head had come back and hit something hard, causing whoever had a hold on me to let go. "Jesus, Infinity. I already knew you were a good fighter. You didn't have to prove it." The familiar voice halted me in my tracks. I turned to look at a familiar crown of blonde hair and a breeze almost knocked me back on my butt. Tancred Torsson had one hand up to cover his eye.

I heard what sounded like a hybrid of a shriek and a sob leave my mouth as I stumbled backwards, balancing myself on the table. Tears blurred my vision and my legs threatened to give out from under me. Tancred Torsson was alive. Somehow, he had survived Dagbert's drowning attack. I wasn't usually an affectionate person, but I was so happy to see Tancred with a healthy pink glow to his skin that I nearly tackled him to the floor. He wrapped his arms around me in a strong bear hug. We were fighters and we were survivors. For the first time since everything happened, I believed that we would make it out of this. Ezekiel Bloor and the Enchanter wouldn't win.


	40. Zelda: Girlfriend

Chapter 40: Girlfriend

Zelda Dobinski

I hadn't planned on returning to the city any time soon, but the fact that I hadn't heard from Infinity in a long time had me worried. She hadn't called in weeks and I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something wasn't right. What if she was hurt? What if something big was going on?

Spring break was a good enough reason to return home. It was just enough time that I could figure out what was going on, but not too much time that I would have to deal with anyone I wouldn't want to. As I traveled by train, I decided to give the Bone household a call, for Infinity's cellphone had been shut off. She had at least given me a warning about that, talking about how money was tight because Lyell was renovating their new home while he and Amy were away. Her grandmother picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" Her voice was as cheerful as ever, which was a relatively good sign.

"Hello, Mrs. Jones." I said awkwardly. "It's Zelda Dobinski. I wanted to know if Infinity was around?" It was spring break for the academy as well. They wouldn't have to go back until the following week.

"She hasn't been staying here, I'm afraid. Are you planning on coming back?" Maisie's voice was solemn. "If so, I would advise you not to. There are very wicked things going on, my dear."

"I'm already on the train." I was curious as to what could be happening. When I had left, things were starting to get bad and Infinity had kept me up to speed on a lot of things, such as Asa's betrayal, her father's awakening, Dagbert the Drowner and Miss Chrystal's true identity, but I had a sense that things were just getting worse. When Miss Chrystal awakened that enchanter, he brought with him a kind of evil that the city hadn't seen in a long time. I was willing to bet everything was out of even Ezekiel's skeletal hands now. "Where is she staying?"

"Piminy Street, which I do not like one bit, but she's staying at the kettle shop with a woman named Katya Kettle. She has been training her in return for Infinity's protection. She's most likely to be there."

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it." I said a quick goodbye and ended the call. While I had the feeling that things in the city were going to be bad, I felt that I had an obligation to be there. If Infinity was fighting instead of running, then it had to be serious. It was time for me to tap into some of my own courage and fight alongside her.

The train ride took an hour total and I was dropped off at a station about a mile from Piminy Street. It wasn't that nice of a day out, but I didn't have the extra cash for a taxi. As I walked through the streets of the city, it was obvious that the air there had changed. The magic was stronger and my anxiety was growing the closer I got. How could Infinity bear to live in such a place?

I turned down the ancient street. I was told that a thousand years ago, Borlath had singlehandedly destroyed the city, engulfing it in a terrible blaze that had killed most of the inhabitants. Because most of the other magicians and powerful people of the city had lived on Piminy Street, they had used their combined magic to keep them safe. Aside from the ruins on the academy grounds, Piminy Street was the only thing that still stood from that time. Everything else had been rebuilt afterwards, including the cathedral.

Last I had heard, the street had been mostly abandoned but I could see lights on in many of the dilapidated buildings. The air was colder and heavier here and I knew that if anyone saw me, I would not be welcome.

The only building that gave any kind of semblance of warmth was the Kettle Shop. The door before me had a pale white glow to it and I felt drawn towards the rune that had been carved into the door. When I put my hand on it, I felt calm and welcome. I pressed my palm flat against the etching and pushed the door open. The gentle tingle of bells would alert the occupants of my presence.

For a kettle shop, there weren't very many kettles. But the ones that did adorn the bare shelves looked like they were carefully polished and handcrafted. The smell of metal and soot lingered in the air while a small lavender candle that burned on a lone wooden table tried to mask it. "Miss, I'm afraid my shop is closed. However did you get in?" The strong, deep voice of a woman that I couldn't see almost made me leap from my own skin. When I turned my head, I could see the metal, industrial looking door that she had come from. She had a crown of auburn curls and she wore overalls that were streaked with what looked like soot. She was a large and intimidating woman, but something about her also told me that she was kind.

"The door, it was unlocked." I murmured. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I'm looking for someone. I was told that my friend was living here? Her name is Infinity Bone."

"You're a friend of Infinity's?" She arched her brow at me. "I guess I have to believe you because you were able to get through the door, but I don't believe I have met you before."

"I attend college about an hour away. My name is Zelda."

"She's training at the moment, but since you've come all this way, I'm sure she'll welcome the break. Come." Katya Kettle waved me over with a muscular arm and lead me through the large metal door she had come from. Inside the room was a forge and beautiful shields and swords adorned the walls. "You'll have to come through here to get to my garden. Don't mind the mess."

"You're a blacksmith?" I stepped to avoid tripping on an anvil.

"Aye, I am." She opened the door to the garden and poked her head out gingerly. "Lower your sword." She called. "You have a visitor." She hesitated for a second before opening the door fully. When I stepped out into the practically bare garden, I was surprised to see some kind of training course.

"Who is it?" While I was able to recognize Infinity's voice, it held confidence that she didn't have before. I turned my head to get a better look at her and gasped audibly. No longer was the scrawny, frightened girl who drowned in her own anxiety and fear. The girl that stood before me was strong. She had focused hazel eyes and a confident grin. Her blonde hair was tied up into a cascading ponytail and she was coated in a layer of sweat. "Zelda?" She dropped her stance and my eyes fell to her bleeding and callused hands

"Hi." I said breathlessly. "I hadn't heard from you in a while and I've come to check on you."

"You…you shouldn't have come back. This is a dangerous place to be right now." She squeezed her hand shut and winced from the pain.

"Why don't you just heal those?" I asked her.

"Discipline." She shrugged. "I'm quite proud of them. They're a reminder of how far I have come and how hard I have been working." She held her hand away from her body and I watched as an impressive sword made of pure, beautiful light materialized itself in her hand. "I've been learning to expand my powers. Not only can I heal, I can use my energy to summon a weapon. This whole time, everyone told me I was a White Witch but I didn't know what it fully meant until recently."

"That's amazing. But what's going on? As soon as I stepped off the train I felt sick."

"Nothing good. Maybe we should go inside. It's not safe to talk out here." She ushered me back towards the door and asked if I would like to sit. Katya prepared us tea and a couple of sandwiches and took a seat in the third empty chair as Infinity began to catch me up on the things that had happened in the last month that I had missed.

I couldn't believe the dreadful things that had come from her mouth. I knew that the Bloors had done nasty things before, such as breaking up families, but lately, their tactics had amplified to the point that no one was safe anymore. Billy was trapped, Salem was gone, Tancred had been brought back from death and Manfred was treating Infinity very oddly. I found myself hating him even more than I did when I left. "Manfred has felt strongly about you since the moment you stepped into the academy." I admitted to her. "Asa and Salem shrugged it off as me being jealous and paranoid, but I knew better. He was interested in you and he hated himself for it. He has a lot of issues and honestly, he needs therapy. Salem had the means and the ability to help him, but he just sits back and watches. He was strong enough to stop all of this from the beginning."

"That's not fair." Infinity glared at me. "He has been through a lot too, and I've watched him try to control a large amount of people and their memories at once before. He almost caused a car accident once. Salem's endowment is very powerful, but that doesn't mean he can use it freely. It hurts him if he uses it too often for anything beyond simple telepathy. Honestly, he has been using it so much since I moved here that I suspect that it's the reason his tumor came back when it did."

I knew how strongly she felt about Salem, but something about him never sat well with me. No one that was raised by Harold and Ezekiel could be anything but cruel. The awkward silence in the room threatened to consume me and I began to wonder if it was a mistake coming back. "I don't know. I guess I've never really been a huge fan of Salem."

"He wasn't the greatest when we met. He sat back and watched all of this with what I honestly thought was amusement because he believed he was above all of this. Even after I got hurt. But Manfred went too far and it pushed Salem over the edge because I was just going to submit to it all. I thought that if I did what he wanted, he would let us all go. That's why Salem left. Because I wasn't fighting hard enough for the people that deserved it."

"So to punish you, he just up and left you to fight for your own as some kind of motivator? I smell bullshit." I rubbed my temples. "I don't want to argue with you, I just want you to watch your back. I shouldn't have even left you in all of this." I glanced over at Katya that watched us with some kind of fascination. "I can retake this semester. I'm staying until this is over."

"Zel, that's fucking stupid-"

"I already watched you suffer once. I'm not going to do it again. I'm staying and that's final."

"What if Manfred finds out? He had no problem doing what he did to Asa."

"Then I'll send him flying to another country." I rolled my eyes. "You're not getting rid of me easily, Fin."

So it was settled. To keep my parents safe, I wasn't going to let anyone know I was back, especially not my cousins or my aunt. I would have to email all of my professors and see if there was a way for me to finish my courses online, but if there wasn't, I would take the hit. During the week while Infinity was at the academy, I would stay at the Kettle Shop and make sure Katya was safe in addition to Infinity's protection runes.

It felt good to spend time with Infinity again. The majority of our friendship had been spent with me talking to her while she lay comatose in a hospital and then communicating through instant messages, emails and phone calls when I started school, it felt amazing to have something tangible. While Beth and I had considered each other "best friends", it was just us sticking together because we both had telekinesis. With Infinity, there was substance. We had the same interests and genuinely enjoyed each other's company.

She was someone I could talk about just about anything with. We spent a lot of our nights doing the typical girl things that we never got to do growing up. I braided her hair, she painted my nails, I showed her how to do the make-up tricks I had learned online. I told her about Jack, a guy that I had started hanging out with that was in one of my classes and how I had a huge crush on him.

I hadn't fully realized how unhealthy my relationship and infatuation with Manfred was until Jack and I started hanging out, then eventually hooking up. As soon as I mentioned that I had hooked up with Jack, Infinity's face went the same shade of red as the lipstick I had just put on her. "What's that look for?" I asked her, trying not to let my smirk betray me.

"I slept with Salem." She blurted, covering her face.

I couldn't help but to laugh at her. She had been so awkward around Salem the summer I left. The fact that he could even get her to agree to having some kind of relationship with him surprised me. "Was anyone home? Did your grandmas find out?"

"Oh god, no." She groaned. "We didn't even do it at home… It was in his car."

"Fin!" I nudged her shoulder. "You could have gotten caught by a police officer or something!" I leaned closer. "You wouldn't know it looking at them because of their completely different lifestyles, but Manfred and Salem are identical. I wonder if that goes for like…everything? Was Salem big too?"

" _Zelda!_ I didn't want to know that!" She scooted away from me as if I had some kind of infectious disease, but she resigned to answering my question anyway. "I don't really know about Salem. I didn't see it but it hurt really badly. But I think just about anything would have. I completely stonewalled him after it happened and locked myself in my room."

"It's nice to see that you're still a giant fucking mess under your sword fighting warrior façade. For a minute, I thought you were finally cooler than me."

"Jokes on you, you're still a massive dork." The blush cleared from her face and she smacked me hard with her pillow.

Every night until Infinity went back to the academy went like that and I almost forgot how shitty everything in the city would soon become. Before she left, I made her promise not to tell anyone I was back yet, not even Charlie. The less allies they knew about, the less likely I would be to "disappear" too.


	41. The Letter

Chapter 41: The Letter

Having Zelda back helped with a lot of my stress, but she also gave me one more thing to worry about. What if they found she was back and they hurt her? Zelda's power was devastating if she was in the right environment but it wasn't difficult to catch her off guard. I couldn't believe that she was willing to stay behind and fight along with us. Life had given her an out, a way to get away from all of this. I wasn't sure if I could say that I would have come back too, but it was hard to imagine how you would react to something in a scenario that never happened.

I wondered what Titania Tilpin and Manfred had in store for the future. I knew she still had the Mirror of Amoret, which Charlie had used to find our father. I also knew that in a scuffle between Charlie and Joshua, it was cracked. Many unsavory characters were starting to trickle into the abandoned buildings of Piminy Street. Joshua's magnetism was responsible for attracting these awful people, no doubt. It wouldn't be a safe place for Katya to live much longer and I hoped that she would choose to move, at least until we could get the menace under control or wipe it out altogether.

It was more than a coincidence that Dagbert had arrived to the academy at the exact moment that my parents decided to go whale watching. Was he strong enough to control the oceans? Could he still drown them if he was nowhere near them or if he didn't know where they were? Manfred had tried to hypnotize Charlie weeks ago with hopes to find out where they were, no doubt. But why didn't he try to hypnotize me? Had Charlie gone into the postcards they had sent? Was there a way that he knew something that I didn't?

"Your grades are slipping. Maybe if you found your classes as interesting as that wall, you would be doing better." Manfred's bitter voice snapped me out of my thoughts and my eyes focused on him. He wasn't wrong. Each test I had gotten back today had lower marks than I usually acquired. The only reason I had been so ahead was because I had nothing better to do when I still lived in California. I wasn't a genius by any stretch, not like Zelda. I was more perceptive than anything. Much of my schooling had been interrupted in the time I had attended Bloor's academy and I was putting more effort into my magic than I was my academics.

"Don't act like you care about my schooling when you've done everything possible to hinder my advancement." I snapped back at him. It was stupid thing to say and I knew it would have repercussions, but for some reason I didn't care. "It's not like you'll let me have a chance to get into a decent college anyway, so what's the point? It's not like _any_ of us are focusing on our studies, since Dagbert is so busy drowning people and you're trying to bring back an ancient enchanter. Do you care about Billy's schooling? What about Asa's? Or Tancred's? How do you expect me to study when I have to worry about you prowling in the shadows? Why should I fucking care about any of this when I don't even know if I'll survive to graduation?"

Manfred's face flushed a bright red from his anger and frustration. He didn't have an answer for me. Instead, he looked back down at the papers in front of them and pretended like I didn't exist. Mine and Charlie's eyes met each other from across the table. I had won.

 

I had been sleeping deeply in soundly when I had been awakened by what sounded like someone yelling in my ear. _**Get up! Get up, now!**_ I had nearly jumped out of bed and flicked my light on. I looked around everywhere, but I couldn't see anyone. The only explanation was that there was something that Salem had wanted me to see and it had been him that had used his telepathy to wake me from my slumber. I flicked off my light just in case Matron came around and noticed it was on. _**Go to the window.**_

I wandered over, hoping for just a moment that Salem was standing outside, staring up at me. I didn't get to see Salem, but what I saw was good enough reason for Salem to wake me up. Many suspicious looking characters were making their way into the academy. Norton Cross was accompanied by a very strange looking man wearing dated clothes, my grandmother and my great aunts were dressed up and looking just as sinister as ever. Titania and Ezekiel were obviously holding a meeting, but they seemed confident enough to do so right under our noses. Did Charlie know this was happening? **_They're gathering all of these people to help search for the box and the will. They're going to try and find it using any means necessary. You need to be careful in dealing with them, Infinity. Ezekiel will use money as a motivator and these people will do ANYTHING for money._**

_What do you want me to do about them? I can't go down there and spy. They'll know I'm there. One of those women, she has second sight and she almost caught me once before._

_**Look at their faces, remember them. They'll be all about the city, possibly disguising themselves as everyday people. Movers, construction workers, taxi drivers. I want you to stay far away from them.** _

_How do you know all of this? Are you still in the city?_

_**Sometimes. It's best for you if you don't know where I am and if they don't think I'm helping you. I shouldn't even be communicating with you now, lest someone catches on. Eustacia, she's getting a lot more powerful. She can almost do what I do. And Manfred's hypnotism is way more powerful than it was before. If they get a hold of you and find out where I am and what I'm doing, we're both dead.** _

_I'm not going to remember this conversation in the morning, am I?_

_**No, but you'll remember these faces. Get into your bags and find a pen and a piece of paper.**_ I grabbed my flashlight from my bedside table and fished through my bags looking for a notebook and a pen. _**Write down: Ashkelan A-s-h-k-e-l-a-n Kapaldi K-a-p-a-l-d-i Hall of Portraits. You'll want to go down there tomorrow and look around. I want you to realize what Titania is capable of. Now, stay up for a bit. You need to remember all of these people.**_

Salem's voice left my thoughts and I did as I was told. Although they were several floors below me, I tried to memorize their features the best I could and I stayed perched at the window for almost a half an hour, hoping I didn't miss any stragglers. I was grateful I did, because the most menacing looking character of all came the latest. He was a large man with broad shoulders and a strange gait. His whole body swayed as if he were walking on the deck of a ship. Although my window was closed and I was several floors higher than he, my room was flooded with the smell of the sea. This man was obviously tied to Dagbert Endless in some way. I wondered if he was his father or at least some kind of close relative. If he was here, that meant that they had something big planned, something too big for Dagbert to handle.

This was the man that they were going to use to make sure my parents never came home again. I backed away from my window and climbed into the bed, pulling the blankets over my head as if that would help get the fish smell out of my room. _**You won't remember this in the morning, but I love you.**_ His voice was faint as my eyelids suddenly grew heavy.

 

The screaming of my alarm had woken me up from a strange dream. Though I couldn't remember much of it, Salem had been there. When I reached over to my nightstand to search for the photograph of us that I kept there, I was surprised to find my biology notebook there instead. There was a note scrawled on it that was definitely my handwriting, but I didn't recall writing it. "Ashkelan Kapaldi: Look in the Hall of Portraits." I read out loud. I frowned. I would pass through the hall on my way to breakfast and look, even though I wasn't exactly sure why I needed to look there. Did I wake up from a dream and think this was important? Would I even find anyone named Ashkelan Kapaldi there?

I threw the notebook back into my bag and rushed to get ready for the day. I would have to give myself enough time to return all of my things to my locker, look for Ashkelan Kapaldi's portrait, and get to breakfast on time. I decided to skip my shower and tied my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and cover my greasy roots with a headband. I knew someone would end up having something to say about my disheveled appearance but I didn't care. I had left myself that note for a reason and I knew it was important that I find out why.

After tossing all of my books into my locker, I speed-walked to the hall of portraits, glancing at various portraits as I walked by. My eyes stopped on Manfred's portrait. _Manfred Ezekiel Bloor_ , the golden plaque below it read. The portrait had been painted sometime after his eighteenth birthday. Whoever they hired, he had captured Manfred's glittering, hypnotic stare perfectly. When I couldn't bear to look at it any longer, I let my eyes drift over to the empty spot next to it. The spot had formerly belonged to Salem, but Dr. Bloor had someone take it down. I remembered Dr. Bloor's harsh words the night we returned to the academy after Asa's rescue. _"Your name will be struck from the Bloor family tree, you will inherit nothing, your portrait will be removed and you will no longer be considered my son. If you forfeit any information against us, Manfred will make sure that both Charlie and Infinity suffer."_

I traced my fingers over the inscription below, which still had not been removed. _Salem Gideon Bloor_. Directly after the Bloor lineage of paintings ended, the Yewbeam section began. I couldn't help but notice that Uncle Paton didn't receive a portrait, but Grandma Bone and my great aunts did. I studied Grandma Bone's portrait the hardest. _Grizelda Lisabette Yewbeam. _I shuddered at the fact that I shared a middle name (or at least a variant of it) with that woman. I knew that Ailwyn had been the one to choose my name and probably had no idea who Grandma Bone was, but I had an urge ask my parents if I could legally have it changed when they returned, just for good measure.__

__I walked down the hallway a bit further. I recognized quite a few of the names that graced the walls. With the passing of time, their achievements and crimes had been long forgotten. Not all of these people had been bad, but why didn't my family get to have their lineage on these walls? "It's over there." A voice came from behind me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. Dr. Bloor was standing so close that I couldn't believe that I never heard him approach, as he was usually accompanied by heavy footfalls. I turned to see what he was talking about. He was pointing towards a large, ornate portrait a little further down the hall. When I glanced at the plaque, I was surprised to see the name that I had been looking for. I was even more surprised when I finally looked up at the portrait itself and realized that I had seen that man before. I had watched him walk into the academy the night before with Norton Cross. Something about the portrait was off though, as if whatever life that the artists had painted into all of the other portraits that adorned the walls had been sucked out._ _

__"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him as I studied the portrait._ _

__"Just, get away from here. And don't let anyone catch you looking at it again." He walked away just as quickly as he had come. He had good advice. If Manfred or anyone else caught me looking around, they would know that I knew and would find a way to keep me quiet. I lowered my head and walked by the last of the portraits, hoping that I wouldn't get the last bits of unwanted breakfast._ _

__Though, I didn't have such luck as the majority of my breakfast didn't even look edible. I dropped down in a seat next to Riley and stared down into my burnt toast and mostly liquid oatmeal. "Why are you so late?" He asked me, placing a banana down on my tray. "You look like you slept in."_ _

__"Yeah." I took a sip of tea and nearly spit it back into the cup. It was too strong, probably what had been left at the bottom of a kettle. "You don't have to give me your food. I know bananas are your favorite."_ _

__"Yeah, yeah. Just eat it, will you?" He waved his hand at me as he finished his final piece of toast. "Heard a lot of commotion going on outside of the academy last night, bunch of unsavory looking characters sticking to the shadows. Your family was among them. I saw a guy with fancy pants with that old doorman from the Pets Café and he looked like one of those guys in the portraits."_ _

__"I wouldn't say that too loudly." I frowned, peeling the banana open and taking a bite. "Maybe you shouldn't be around me too much anymore. They were able to hurt Tancred, and he wasn't easy to take down. I couldn't imagine what they would do to you."_ _

__"Nice try, but you're not going to get rid of me that easily. Charlie lets Gunn and Olivia stick around."_ _

__"I don't understand why you hang around me. You have plenty of normal friends. You're popular. I'm sure people aren't happy that you're hanging out with the freaky endowed kids." I never really questioned Riley's friendship, at least not until now. While I knew Salem harbored a little bit of jealousy, he never said that Riley couldn't be trusted. And it really wasn't that I didn't trust him, I just wondered why he would want to be involved in this mess._ _

__"I dunno, Fin. You went MIA for the first week that I was appointed Head Boy, so when you came back, I figured I should get to know you. That's why I sent Dagbert off. I had expected you endowed lot to be cliquey and weird, like you thought you were better than the rest of us, but you weren't. I've gotten to see quite a bit of your life and the stuff you go through on a daily basis. And despite all of that mess, you still try to be a good person. I admire that. Also, you need someone big and strong to keep those weird guys away until Salem realizes he's an idiot and comes back for you."_ _

__"You can't blame me for being worried about you." I frowned at him._ _

__"And you can't blame me for being worried about _you_." With breakfast coming to an end, he gathered both of our trays and walked with me to my English lesson._ _

__

__As I headed to lunch later in the day, I noticed Charlie, Fidelio and Gabriel walking ahead of me. They had hesitated as they passed Ashkelan Kapaldi's painting. Had Charlie spied on the shady visitors that had visited the academy last night? _That's a stupid question. He's Charlie. Of course he did._ I thought to myself. "Charlie!" I called out them, quickening my pace to catch up. "What's going on?" I asked coolly, easing into their conversation._ _

__Gabriel shot me a furtive glance. He was always a suspicious, shy boy and I knew he had a hard time trusting anyone that wasn't Charlie. "This may sound weird, but I think I saw that guy in that painting last night and Gabe thought he saw him today." Charlie, however, had no reservations towards allowing me into his conversation._ _

__"I saw him last night too." I informed him. "And when I woke up this morning, there was a note next to my bed in my handwriting that I didn't remember writing. I told myself to look for Ashkelan Kapaldi's portrait in the morning. You didn't travel in there at all, did you Charlie?"_ _

__"No, I didn't. I don't know how he got here. It's not like my endowment is a common one." We didn't want to get caught staring at the portrait by anyone, so we continued to walk towards the cafeteria and get our trays. "You said that you wrote yourself a note and you didn't remember writing it. Do you… Do you think there is a chance that Salem had something to do with that? Don't you think it's odd that Uncle Paton just knew to be at the chapel when I came back with Otus?"_ _

__I thought about it for a moment, but many doubts jumbled around in my mind. _Katya probably tipped Uncle Paton off. Salem is probably long gone, in America by now. I'm very intuitive, I probably just had a dream and wrote down the name and it was a lucky guess._ "I doubt it was Salem." I rolled my eyes._ _

__"It's strange to me that he hasn't come back yet. You told me he only left because you wouldn't let him help and you were working against us to try and make peace. But now you're helping. Why wouldn't he come back?"_ _

__"I don't know. He's probably over me, met some normal girl and is living the normal life he wanted." I was starting to get irritated. "Can we please just stop talking about him? Riley brought him up earlier too."_ _

__"Right. Sorry." Charlie looked like he felt guilty and quickly changed the subject. "Dagbert's father is here too. Lord Grimwald. Dagbert is terrified and tried to ask me to hide his sea-gold creatures."_ _

__"The ones he drowned Tancred over? I hope you told him where he could stick them instead." I grinned at Charlie and elicited a laugh from all three boys. "Though I can understand why Dagbert is scared. Do you know about their supposed family curse?"_ _

__"Of course. Lord Grimwald is definitely a powerful person. A long time ago, he drowned Cook's entire family because she turned him down for marriage. Twice. If he's here, then nothing good will come of it."_ _

__After lunch, the younger students went outside for break. Sixth years were given the option of staying indoors and I often took advantage of it during the colder months. March through April was normally a hit or miss with the weather. Today it was cold and dreary so I was going to spend my time studying in the library. Manfred had made a point to tell me that my grades were slipping and although I felt like it didn't matter much anymore, I didn't want to lose my position as head prefect. I enjoyed the private room and I would be damned if I let myself slip back into the dorms with the other girls. With Zelda back I would at least have a good study partner._ _

__

__The rest of the week went by with little to no incident. I was excited to go back to the Kettle Shop for more training with Katya and to hang out with Zelda more. My stop at Piminy Street was the sixth shop. I said my goodbyes to Charlie, promising that I would stop by for dinner because he had something that he wanted to tell me._ _

__As soon as I stepped off the bus, I found myself running down Piminy Street just in case any of the other inhabitants decided to take a chance and come out during the day. As soon as I opened the door to the Kettle Shop, Zelda was there asking me about my week and practically trying to shove a plate of cookies she made down my throat. "Katya and Maisie showed me how. Are they any good?"_ _

__Zelda's cookies weren't bad, but my standards were high from eating Maisie's cooking for over a year. "They're good, Zel. Maisie was here?" I said through a mouthful of baked goods. I sat my trunk down on the ground and followed Zelda back to the table._ _

__"Yeah. She already knew I was here so it wasn't a big deal. She dropped something off that Paton had wanted to give to you, but he would already be off on one of his adventures when you got home so she gave it to us for safe keeping." She handed me a sealed, blank envelope._ _

__I carefully opened it and quickly recognized Salem's handwriting. Maisie had told me when Salem left that he had something for me when he left and that Uncle Paton would know when it was time for me to see it. It must have been time. "This, it's from Salem."_ _

__"Oooooh! Read it out loud."_ _

___"Fin,_ _ _

___I know you're not happy with my decision to leave, but this is the way things have to be, at least for now. I wished to tell you what I'm about to say in person, for I have known for quite a while, but the time wasn't right. If Paton has given this to you, it means a very dangerous man has come to the city. His name is Lord Grimwald, Lord of the Oceans, and he is Dagbert's father. My family has asked him for a very important favor._ _ _

___Lord Grimwald is in possession of a very powerful artifact called the Sea Globe. With it, he has full control of all bodies of water in the world. With Amy and Lyell whale watching, I'm sure you understand why they want for his aid. But this isn't the first time they have requested Lord Grimwald's services._ _ _

___A year and a half ago, Ezekiel called upon Lord Grimwald and his Sea Globe to drown a man who was studying marine life off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I didn't care to know the specifics, because as you know, I generally turned my back on them and tried not to get involved. The only thing I knew was that the man's name was Ailwyn Llewellyn. I didn't know he was connected to you at all. Grimwald killed him, and Ezekiel paid your aunt off to bring you here. This is why everyone was so angry when Manfred lost his temper with you. Of course, you then proved to be too difficult to control and found out who you really were. That's why Ezekiel kidnapped you. The only reason he gave up on trying to take your power for himself is because he's too weak. You and Charlie are so unique and powerful that they don't know how to handle either of you. You have two very powerful magicians in your lineage._ _ _

___Anyway, I'm telling you this because Lord Grimwald needs to be stopped and there is only one person that is strong enough to do it. Dagbert. I know he has done some despicable things in the past, but you have a common enemy. As you may know "When the first son of the Lord Grimwald reaches his thirteenth year, he attains his full power and one of them dies.". Dagbert doesn't want to lose his life, but neither does Lord Grimwald. Everyone will turn their backs on Dagbert to appease Grimwald. You need to help him, Fin. I swear Dagbert isn't as bad as you think he is. His mother instilled some goodness into him and he just acts the way he does because he's scared._ _ _

___Fight by his side, destroy the Sea Globe._ _ _

___I love you."_ _ _


	42. The Illusionist's Secret

Chapter 42: The Illusionist's Secret

I didn't know how I was supposed to feel about the new information I had just processed. My whole life, I had been treated like a pawn and I never knew. I had been passed back and forth for large sums of money and I had indirectly been responsible for the death of a good man. More than anything, I wanted Grimwald to suffer for all of the lives he had ruined. Was money truly worth more than someone's life to these people?

"We need to end this, and we need to end it now." I sat Salem's letter down on the table and wiped my tears away. "I must tell Charlie."

"You'll have time for that later." Katya placed a strong hand on my shoulder as a sign of comfort. "I think you need to take a little bit of time for yourself."

"Why don't you go shower?" Zelda suggested. "I have something that I wish to talk to you about whenever you're finished."

I nodded and walked away from the table. I carried my trunk up the stairs to Katya's apartment and put all of my dirty clothes in the hamper to wash before the weekend was over. One of my favorite things to do when I left the academy on Fridays was to take a long, hot shower. Although my private bathroom was a bit better than the shared bathrooms in the dorms, it still wasn't ideal. I only had about seven minutes of hot water on a good day.

As I shampooed the smell of the academy out of my hair, I thought back to my life with Ailwyn and Lily. Although after Ailwyn's death I initially held a lot of anger because I felt that he didn't spend enough time with me, he had been a better parent that Lily by far. I wished that I had told him I loved him more. I wished I could have been there to save him.

I stood in the shower until the water ran ice cold. If I would have done this back at home, Grizelda would have yelled at me and called me wasteful. Katya, however, didn't care. I pulled back the curtain and pulled my towel off of the rack to dry myself off. I dragged a brush through my hair, wincing as it caught on a snarl from my hair being tied up in a bun for too long. Having long hair got exhausting sometimes and I found that I was tired of constantly battling with it. After I managed to blow dry it, I tied it off with my hair band and rummaged through the sink drawer for scissors. It may have been a lapse of judgement, but I hacked off my hair to my shoulders and hoped that it was even enough.

If I fucked it up, it would grow back fast enough but I was confident that I had cut it straight enough. I often cut my own bangs and this wasn't that much different. I tossed my unwanted hair in the garbage can, ran a brush through it and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.

I was a new person and I wanted everyone to see that. I wanted Manfred to see that he wasn't going to get to fuck with me anymore, I wanted Grimwald to see that I wasn't going to sit back and let him ruin our lives, I wanted Titania to know that I was going to rip her fucking heart through her chest for interfering with my life. With my hands in my sweatshirt pockets, I descended the stairs and took my seat back at Katya's table. Zelda stared at my hair but didn't make any comments about it. "I talked to my parents while you were away." She said slowly, bringing a hand forward and gently running it through my hair to make sure it was all straight. "My dad said he didn't like the feeling he was getting here and that Aunt Natalia was acting strange, so he decided to use all of his vacation days that he saved up and took my mother to Italy. If he's safe and far away, then I don't need to hide. I want to go with you when you speak with Charlie tonight. You shouldn't leave here by yourself anymore."

"If you're sure." I drummed my fingers off of the table. Since I had time to kill before dinner with Charlie, I had Zelda help me study. I couldn't believe how behind I was. Usually I didn't have trouble keeping up, but school was the furthest thing on my mind. When dinner time hit, I couldn't wait to get away from the table and Zelda's rather aggressive tutoring style.

We pulled on our coats and our boots and decided to walk to number nine. While Katya was uneasy about us walking, she knew that if we were together, we would be safe. The cold wind hit our faces as we trudged up the street and snowflakes gently fell from the gray sky. I wished the weather would make up its mind, but I doubted that we would get lucky enough to see some consistent sun before May.

The closer we got to number 9, the more uneasy I began to feel. "Hey, are you okay? You look kind of pale." Zelda asked me as we walked up the stairs.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right." I loudly knocked on the door but no one answered. Uncle Paton's camper van was long gone and I couldn't even hear Maisie bustling around in the kitchen. I got more and more anxious as I waited, so I tried the doorknob. To my surprise, the door opened. I poked my head in the living room, but no Charlie. I quickly ran up the stairs to check the bedroom, but he wasn't there either.

"Hey, Fin. You should come down here." I heard Zelda say. "Grizelda left a note."

I quickly descended the stairs and looked over Zelda's shoulder at the paper. Charlie was at Darkly Wynd with the Yewbeam Aunts and Grandma Bone. Nothing good could come from that. "Shit, we need to go now." I said as I quickly scribbled another note underneath just in case Maisie came home, saw it, and panicked. As Zelda and I quickly ran from the house, we almost knocked someone down who was trying to come in.

Olivia Vertigo with her now platinum blonde hair gave us both a strange look. "Zelda? Aren't you supposed to be in college?"

"Plans changed." Zelda shrugged. "We don't really have time to talk, though."

"No, this is good. We can bring Olivia with us." I glanced over at Zelda. "She's one of us."

"What?" Zelda was genuinely shocked. "Since when?"

"The beginning of the school year." Olivia shrugged. "Where do you want to bring me to?"

"I came to see Charlie and I found a note from Grandma Bone saying that they took him to Darkly Wynd." I quickly explained. "But we need to hurry. They might really hurt Charlie."

My stamina had greatly improved from my sword training so I had no problem running nearly the entire way to Darkly Wynd. Zelda and Olivia however, had a harder time keeping up. This made things kind of difficult since both of them seemed to know where they were going but I did not. When we finally got there, we were all breathing rather heavily but we didn't have much time to catch our breath. We stood in front of three identical houses that I assumed belonged to each of the aunts. Only one of them seemed to have the lights on, so I assumed that was the one they were holed up in. The three of us quietly snuck up to the door and I was able to lean over the porch railings to peek into the living room. What I saw made my blood boil. Charlie was sitting in a chair with Manfred Bloor sitting directly across from him, both of them seemingly in a trance. Grandma Bone had her fingers dug into Charlie's back while Aunt Lucretia and Aunt Venetia stood behind Manfred. And Aunt Eustacia stood between them, her head hung low as if she was concentrating on something.

"Fuck!" I murmured and looked back at Zelda and Olivia. "Manfred is with them. He's hypnotizing Charlie. They must be trying to figure out where my parents are."

"Then we need to break Manfred's concentration." Zelda knelt down in front of the front door and lifted the mail slot to look through it. Olivia and I both craned our necks to look through the window again. Grandma Bone, Aunt Venetia and Aunt Lucretia jumped as all of the paintings in the house flew off the wall. This, however, wasn't enough to get Manfred's attention. Zelda's next trick was to knock over a china cabinet filled with priceless plates. The loud shattering of the glass on the cabinet and the plates caused both Manfred and Charlie to jump. Manfred's eyes locked directly into mine and Olivia and I both quickly jumped back. My back hit something solid and hard that hadn't been there moments before. I brought my hand back to feel for it. It was a giant statue of stone. I had forgotten about Eric. He had to be close by, commanding his stone army.

Charlie used Zelda's welcome distraction to run out the door, but we were surrounded by several stone gargoyles that had come flying from their pedestals from outside the three houses. I quickly summoned my sword and swung at one that was coming directly at me as I leaped off of the porch. I sword cut through it like butter and it fell from the sky. I managed to take out a few more before they could do any more damage.

But there were too many. Eric was summoning them faster than I could fight them off. "We have to run." Zelda yelled over the grinding of stone. Charlie was already almost half way down the street. Eric, the aunts, Grandma and Manfred all stood in the doorway as I grabbed Zelda's arm, pulling her closer to me. "Olivia, let's go!" I yelled.

But she couldn't move. A gargoyle had wrapped itself around her arm and was tugging her. She let out a shriek that stopped Charlie in his tracks. I couldn't use a sword to get her free without running the risk of cutting her, so I uselessly tried to pull at the stone creature while Venetia let out a loud cackle, with grandma and the aunts following in suit. Manfred stood with a solemn expression, his eyes locked with Zelda's.

Olivia glared up at the four women and before I could stop her, she began to conjure up an illusion. "Olivia, Stop!" Charlie yelled out to her, but it was useless. Before us, a very realistic six foot tall skeleton began to materialize. It raised a sharp, bloodstained sabre in its bony hand and rushed at Eric and the Yewbeams. With Eric's concentration broken, the gargoyle let Olivia go. They retreated back into the house, but Olivia had given herself up. We needed to get away quickly. Olivia rubbed her bruised wrist as we walked. Zelda and Charlie walked ahead of us. I heard him questioning why she had returned.

"Can I see your arm?" I asked Olivia.

She held her arm out for me to examine and I gently wrapped my fingers around her wrist. Under my fingers, the bruise began to disappear along with the pain. "Wow, you're really just like Alice."

"Alice?" I asked.

"My godmother. She's a white witch too." Olivia said simply.

"There's another White Witch and no one bothered to tell me?" I frowned. "It would have been nice to figure out how to do all of this sooner."

"We did tell Alice about you, and she said you weren't ready to learn yet." Charlie butted in. "But we have a bigger problem right now. Liv, I can't believe you gave yourself away."

"She had no choice." Zelda spoke up. "Infinity is the only one who can do anything to those things and there were just too many. If it weren't for Olivia, we would have been screwed."

"Ugh." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right. Thank you, Liv."

"You're welcome, you ungrateful brat." Olivia stuck her tongue out at him. "But what about you, Charlie? What did they do to you in there?"

"Manfred hypnotized me and Aunt Eustacia…" He looked uncomfortable as he recalled what had just happened. "She's getting stronger…She's becoming like Salem, I think. Manfred weakened my will with hypnotism and Aunt Eustacia was able to see what I was thinking."

"What kind of questions did they ask you?" Zelda asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't know what I told them." Charlie tried hard to think, but I could tell that Manfred's hypnotism had taken a lot out of him. During the rest of the walk, I could see Charlie trying hard to recall what had happened, but I wasn't sure if he had any luck or not.

When we returned to Filbert Street, all of the street lights had already come on and the sky was dark. I was relieved when Uncle Paton's camper van was in the driveway. I started to run towards the house and Charlie let out a panicked "Stop!"

Quite frankly, I didn't care enough to listen. I needed to talk to Uncle Paton about Salem's letter. When I threw open the door, it took me a few minutes to register what I saw. Maisie was standing in the foyer with the note that Grandma Bone had written (with my additions), Uncle Paton was in the middle of setting down his suitcases, and a familiar face was shoving a biscuit into his mouth.

I stared into a set of panicked stormy blue eyes as they scanned me from top to bottom. I took in his now shoulder length hair and his scratchy, ungroomed facial hair. "Wow…Your hair got a lot shorter." Salem finally spoke after he swallowed the last of his biscuit.

"You have been missing for almost a month and all you have to say to me is that my hair got short?" It took all that I had to keep from screaming. He and Uncle Paton both looked haggard and tired. It finally hit me that Salem had been with Uncle Paton all along, and that Maisie and Charlie had both known. "Someone better tell me what is going on before I freak the hell out."

"We can get to that later," Salem simply brushed me off. "I want to know why you all came from Darkly Wynd. And why Charlie looks like he stuck his head in a fire pit."

"What?" I glanced back at Charlie and for the first time, I noticed that his hair looked kind of singed.

"Everyone. Dining room. Now." Uncle Paton rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. We all filed into the Dining room where Maisie had already prepared a candle lit dinner of salmon and chips. I was grateful that she always made large portions, as there was enough for all. "Charlie, you first."

"The Onimouses were evicted from the Café today." Charlie began. "We got off the bus at Frog Street and these suspicious looking movers were taking all of their stuff. They have to go stay with Gabe and his family because the city council says that the café isn't safe, but there's nothing wrong with it. Well, Mr. Onimous gave me the key that leads to the castle tunnel and I thought that the will might be in there. When I went to look, I was followed by an arsonist named Amos Byrne. He lit the end of the tunnel on fire so I couldn't escape and I really thought I would be done for, but the Flames helped me get away. At least until that swordsman found me. I barely escaped." He then went on to talk about our adventure in Darkly Wynd.

Maisie winced and shook her head. "You shouldn't run off without telling me or your sister. What if something would have happened to you?"

I couldn't help but notice Uncle Paton throughout the conversation. He seemed to be a thousand miles away. But my main concern was Salem. I glared over at him. "Your turn." I said. I was so angry that I hadn't noticed that I was squeezing my fork so hard that my hand began to cramp up.

"Look, I had my reasons. I was trying to-"

"If you say that you were just trying to protect me, I'm going to punch you in the face." I warned.

"You would really hit a guy that had cancer?" Salem raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "We'll talk about it later, okay? Just us. Right now, we need to figure out what Charlie told Manfred and the Yewbeams."

Uncle Paton seemed to pull himself out of his own thoughts so he could question Charlie about what he had been forced to divulge. "Did my sisters question you about the Red Knight?"

Charlie thought for a moment before finally answering. "Yes, and I remember thinking that it was Bartholomew."

I looked over at Salem who raised an eyebrow and looked over at Uncle Paton. "Wow, that's fascinating. I hope you didn't tell them about Tancred. …Or Salem, I guess."

"I don't think they got that far. You guys are safe." Charlie said. "But you're not, Liv."

While everyone caught up in the dining room, Salem and I were sitting in the bedroom that he had once shared with Charlie. While Maisie had strict rules about us being alone, she begrudgingly made an exception because this was something that really needed to be talked about. After sitting in awkward silence for what felt like eternity, Salem finally spoke. "Look, it was just better if they thought I was gone. And to really sell the fact that I wasn't coming back, I needed you to mope around for a bit. You're a terrible actress. I'm trying to help Paton get the answers he needs and because a lot of people aren't too keen on saying anything that incriminates the Bloors, my endowment is really coming in handy. But because I'm thousands of miles away and focusing on something else, I can't protect you. I'm aware that you're suddenly a very fierce, sword wielding crazy woman, but these people are really stepping their game up. I've been helping you along the way the best I can, though. That note you found about the painting? That was me. My dad being helpful? That was me too. And the letter. That one was risky, but I didn't want you to think I didn't love you anymore when that couldn't be any further from the truth." He cracked his knuckles and stared up at me. "Let me help you."

"I am letting you help me, but I can't stand being lied to. Do you even know what I have been going through? Manfred is acting super weird and I can't handle it."

"I think I know what's going on with him." Salem frowned. "My dad and Manny, I don't really think they're bad people. I think Ezekiel did something to them, and whatever it is that Ezekiel did, I think Titania made it worse. When I try to read their minds, it seems like everything is just jumbled with negative emotion and they can hardly make sense of what's going on in their heads, like they're cursed or something. I've had my suspicions for a while, but sometimes Manfred pushes things too far and I get so angry that I forget that it might not be his fault. I am especially guilty of that the night I left." He reached for me and pulled me down on his lap. I didn't bother to fight him. Although I was upset, I craved him. "You are full of beautiful, pure magic. And any time that Manfred is near you or he touches you, some of that bad shit goes away and he starts to feel human again. He gets obsessed, and you get hurt in the process. Lately, his thoughts seem clearer and he doesn't seem to be as angry all the time. Because your magic makes him feel things the way he's supposed to, I think his brain is mistaking that for love. I believe that's what happened with Asa as well. You should try to work with him, see if you can get through to him." He tilted my face towards his and kissed me deeply. "Not like this, of course." He whispered in between kisses. "I don't wish to share."

"Are you going to let me remember this?" I asked, pressing my forehead to his.

"They seem to be more preoccupied with Charlie and his thoughts. So I believe I will." His calloused fingers ran up the back of my shirt, tracing over my bare skin. "I needed this."

"Salem, stop. Everyone is downstairs." I warned.

"They're all too preoccupied in everything that has happened." He tugged at my sweatshirt, waiting for my permission to remove it. I had a hard time telling him no, especially when I wanted this just as badly as he did. "Do you forgive me?" He asked as he pulled my sweatshirt over my head, then his own shirt.

"Of course I do." I smirked at him. "But this needs to be quick."

"I have been living in a van with no privacy with your Uncle. I don't think that will be a problem." He rolled his eyes and laughed. "But if your friends ask, I'm a fucking god, okay?"

We both laughed as he laid me down on the bed and pulled off my jeans. It felt so good to have him home.


	43. Salem: Alice the Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem's POV

Chapter 43: Alice the Angel

Salem Bloor

I stared at the girl who lay underneath me as I caught my breath and my head stopped spinning. She carefully unwrapped her arms from around my neck and gently caressed my face. She had changed so much since the day I met her, but I found that I loved her all the same. "We should really get back downstairs." She murmured, staring up at me with her beautiful green-gold eyes.

"Yes, right." I awkwardly cleared my throat and sat up, giving her enough room to move. She quickly pulled on her discarded clothes and combed her fingers through her mussed up hair. "I like your new look." I noted. "It's very femme fatale."

"That's what I was going for." She tossed my jeans at me and smirked. "It's hard to be an efficient fighter if someone can just grab you by your hair."

"If someone would have told me a year ago that Infinity Bone would become a kick-ass fighter," I paused for a second. "I would totally believe it because you do some serious damage when you're angry, even without using your endowment."

"What can I say? Beating up boys is one of my favorite past times."

We shared a laugh and I pulled on my clothes so we could join everyone else back down at the table. Olivia had since left and Paton had gone up to bed, but Charlie, Maisie and Zelda all seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

I never expected Infinity and Zelda's friendship to become so strong, but it did. The two of them seemed to fit right back together, as if they never skipped a beat. Infinity brought out a side of Zelda that I had never seen in the six years I had known her.

Zelda came to the academy as a first year. She was only ten years old, but she was a mathematical prodigy who could move things with her mind. She spent most of her time alone, at least for her first two years. She was egotistical and rather stand-offish, and I think Manfred liked that. He started talking to her with no romantic interest; however, Zelda immediately caught a crush on the older boy that spoke with her in an environment where most people avoided or ignored her. A few more years passed where they got closer as friends, but Manfred being the ever-brooding and complicated individual that he was, he struggled to find himself, at least until that thing with Asa happened and he was metaphorically slapped in the face with a giant sign that read "You're straight!". It was then that he finally turned his attention to Zelda, as if to atone for his previous sins.

I believed that he was good to Zelda at first, but the older he got, the meaner he got, and towards the end, I knew it was getting rough for Zelda to want to stay with him. What happened to Infinity was the straw that broke the camel's back. Zelda stayed by Infinity's side every weekend. It pained me to admit it, but Zelda went and saw her more than I did. I made a point to go and see her for a few hours once every weekend, and at least three times a week after school ended, but Zelda was there every free day she had.

Infinity had gone through her whole life without having a single real friend, and it seemed that Zelda had gone through the same. They needed each other. "I think it's probably about time that you and I walk home." Zelda nudged Infinity after a few more minutes of talking. "Who knows what kind of weirdos are out right now."

"Do you want me to walk you?" I asked.

"That's a stupid idea." Zelda raised her eyebrow at me. "If your family knew you were back, it would be trouble. It's one thing having a few people knowing you're back, but you really shouldn't be seen walking the streets. We'll be safe."

She had a point. I watched as Infinity gave Maisie and Charlie a quick hug, before turning her attentions to me. She gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before she and Zelda were gone.

 

When I woke up the next morning, my head felt foggy and my mouth was dry. It took me longer than usual to gain my footing and maneuver to the bathroom. Paton and I had been awake for several days and my body had finally crashed. I ran myself a cold shower with hopes to clear my hazy head and wake up a little bit more. It helped a little bit, but I still had a headache from sleeping too long and my body was sore.

When I went downstairs, I was not greeted by the usual smell of Maisie's breakfast, but of some kind of roast. It was then that I finally caught a glimpse of the clock. It was just a bit after noon. "It's about time you woke up, you lazy lump." Maisie teased. "Paton, Charlie and Emma Tolly have all gone to talk to a lawyer of some sort. And Infinity called for you about a half hour ago to see if you were still here. I imagine that she and her friend are on their way here to wake you up."

"I can hardly believe you let me sleep that long." I sat down at the kitchen table and watched as Maisie poured me a cup of coffee, remembering by heart the way I liked it.

"You seemed like you needed it, dear. I hope you and Paton start taking care of yourselves a little bit better while you're out there." She sat the warm cup down in front of me just as the front door opened. I could hear someone rustling around with their coat before Infinity finally made her way into the kitchen, alone. Her nose was a very bright red from the cold and her hands were wrapped in fresh bandages. "Good morning, love." Maisie gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she sat down at the table next to me. "Where's your friend?"

"There were some shady looking people looking around the shop earlier, so Zelda stayed behind in case something happened and I jumped the garden wall so no one would see me." She explained. "Where's Charlie and Uncle P?"

"Emma Tolly came by this morning and the three of them went to go speak with a lawyer." Maisie explained as she prepared a cup of tea for Infinity. She didn't like coffee very much. She sat the cup down in front of her. "So are the two of you on better terms now?"

"She can't stay mad at me." I winked and Infinity rolled her eyes at me. "Hey, even your grandmother agreed that it would be best that you didn't know what I was up to. You can't stay mad if your whole family agrees with me."

"Of course I can." She teased.

The three of us sat and talked about arbitrary things until I heard the front door open again. Charlie and Paton had returned, and they were both wearing grim expressions. They didn't even stop to talk with us, they just headed straight up to Paton's room as Paton made a phone call on his cell. "What the heck is that all about?" Maisie asked.

"I'm sure they'll be down to tell us shorty." Infinity shrugged and slowly sipped at her tea. I didn't wish to intrude in Paton's thoughts, so I calmly waited along with everyone else to find out what was going on. Paton came back down the steps first and took his place as the table where he was served his coffee. He didn't seem like he was in the mood to speak, he looked incredibly spooked. Charlie joined us shorty after and just as he went to explain the situation, Grizelda came barging through the door.

"Shit." I murmured, quickly ducking into the pantry like Maisie and I had practiced. A few times I had been caught by Grizelda and I was able to erase her memory easily enough, but it was always easier for me to just hide.

"What is this I hear about you being involved in a murder?" Through a crack in the door, I saw her point a finger accusingly at Charlie.

"How do you know? It only just happened." Charlie glared back at her.

"I want to know what you were doing on Tigerfield Street." She demanded. Fucking hell, a murder? No wonder Paton looked so distressed.

"It's amazing how quickly word gets around in your nefarious underground, Grizelda." Paton looked at her with utter contempt and disgust. "There is a network of spies in this city that I find truly repellant."

"What are you talking about? Where's lunch? I'm hungry." She glared over at Infinity. "It looks like you ate it all, didn't you? You're practically bursting out of that sweater. Is that all you come back here for? To stuff your face? Disgusting girl. You'll never find a husband if you continue to eat like a pig."

"Oh well." Infinity just shrugged at her and looked over at a very angry Maisie. Infinity had gained a little bit more weight since I had seen her last, but I still thought she looked fantastic and healthy. If anything, she only seemed a bit bigger because she had gained some muscle. I hoped that Grizelda's insults wouldn't get to her.

"The only disgusting one here is you, Grizelda." Paton interrupted. "We are all aware of your scandalous conspiracy to defraud Billy Raven of his rightful inheritance." He stared deeply into Grizelda's eyes and I believed that he was finding delight in the horror that spread over her face. "Even if it means drowning your own son. I used to ask myself why you were such an awful human being, but now, I believe I know."

"You have no idea what you're up against this time, Paton Yewbeam." She snarled.

"A gaggle of ugly old women past their prime?" Infinity raised an eyebrow.

Grizelda left the room in a fit of anger and I stepped out of the pantry. "Have you really found out why Grandma Bone is the way she is?" Charlie asked.

Paton didn't speak for a long time. We sat around the table and I watched Infinity pinch part of her stomach, as if to see if she had really gotten that big. It appeared that she didn't care for long, though. For she kept eyeing the timer on the oven that would tell when Maisie's delicious roast was ready.

"It has to do with love, Charlie." Uncle Paton said finally. I had been with him when he had discovered this information about Grizelda, and it did seem to explain a lot. Though none of it was Lyell's fault at all. "Grandma Bone's husband, Monty, fell out of love with her."

Infinity snorted. "What man could have loved a woman like that to begin with?"

"A bewitched man, dear girl. I have my suspicions that Venetia bewitched him. Poor Monty didn't stand a chance. Grizelda had always wanted to marry a pilot, and she got one. But not for long." Paton launched into the story of a woman that we had met on our travels to Neverfinding. She was a woman named Homily Brown who had been very friendly. I hadn't had a single use for my endowment while there. A week before Monty Bone had crashed his plane, he had returned home to see Homily and write out his will. He had left everything to his only son, Lyell. He had also written a letter that was to be given to Lyell on his eighteenth birthday. Monty had begged that Lyell put an end to the Yewbeams before they could destroy him. Grizelda knew about that letter, and for that reason, she never wanted Lyell to return home.

"As interesting as that story was," I yawned, gazing at the snowflakes that fell outside the window. "I want to know about the murder."

"Ah, yes!" Maisie had, surprisingly, forgotten the mention of murder. "You need to explain yourselves immediately."

It was Charlie's turn to speak. "We went to speak with a lawyer, a man named Barnaby Bittermouse. He lived on Tigerfield Street and he knew dad. We wanted to speak with him to see if he knew anything about the box, but when we got there, he didn't answer the door. We knocked again, which caused the door to open. Naturally, we went inside to investigate and see if Mr. Bittermouse was okay, but when Emma opened the door to his office, he was dead on the floor. He had a wound on his stomach and there were several long scratches along the office floor."

"Like claws?" Infinity asked.

"No, like an enchanted sword. It was that Kipaldi guy, I'm sure of it." Charlie fidgeted in his seat. "I don't think you can beat him, Infinity. His sword acts on its own. If you see him about, please don't approach him."

"I have to agree." I put my hand over hers. "Everything we have read about that man isn't good. You would be better off staying away."

"Fine." She reluctantly agreed.

"When are the two of you setting off again?" Maisie asked us as the timer on the oven began to ding. She carefully took out the roast, potatoes, and gravy, allowing the heavenly smell to waft through the kitchen undeterred. She sat her roast down in front of Paton to carve.

"Monday." Paton glanced up at me and I nodded in agreement. Paton was confident in a lead that would take us to Ireland. I glanced over at Infinity and noticed that her mood had dampened considerably. As everyone else began to scoop food onto their plates, she quietly waited.

"It isn't going to be like this forever, Fin." I reassured her. If she heard me, she didn't show it. I felt guilty leaving her again, but at least this time she knew that I was going to come back.

As the sky grew darker, the snow began to fall harder. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was still December. Grandma Bone had gone to bed early, most likely to avoid Infinity, Maisie was up in her bedroom tending to Charlie's academy laundry, Paton was locked in his bedroom, probably trying to catch up on some more sleep, and Charlie and Infinity were sitting at the kitchen table, where she was trying to help him with his studies.

Through the archway in the living room, I watched the two of them work together. A blonde head bent closely towards a brunette, hedgy head. They shared a package of cookies as Infinity pointed something out in his textbook. They had come a long way from where they had started. They had been strangers when she began attending the academy, and even after finding out they were siblings, it seemed to separate them more. Now, they were trying to build each other up.

I felt a pang of jealousy watching them. Manfred and I had started out with a decently close relationship. We played together and had gotten along for the most part, but he seemed to drift further and further away the older he got. He still treated me with respect that he didn't treat anyone else with, but he was no longer the brother I knew. I wondered what our relationship would have been like if Ezekiel would have been killed the day Lyell shoved him to the ground. Would his relationship with our mother still be strained? Would he have shut her fingers in the door and laughed at her pain? Would my mother have still faced an uncertain fate in the hands of the Time Twister?

My thoughts and the Bone siblings' study session came to an abrupt halt when someone rang the doorbell at Number 9. As far as I knew, no one here was expecting company. Infinity peeked out the kitchen window, but I heard her say that she couldn't see anyone. Charlie mentioned that he hadn't noticed anyone walking by to get there.

The doorbell rang a second time. The adults of the house didn't seem to hear it, and if they did, they weren't concerned. When I looked out the living room window I saw three inches of untouched snow. Not a single car was uncovered and not a single footprint could be seen on the deserted street.

The doorbell rang a third time and Charlie gingerly approached the door, slowly pulling it open while Infinity and I stood in the archways of the rooms we had inhabited. A cloud of snowflakes drifted into the hallway and whoever was at the door had surprised Charlie. He let out a gasp and his hand flew to his mouth.

"Hello, Charlie! May I come in?" A friendly feminine voice inquired from the doorstep. Charlie wordlessly stepped aside and a woman stepped into the hallway. Much like Charlie, I heard Infinity let out an audible gasp. The woman was certainly beautiful. She had a crown of white-blonde hair and beautiful pale skin. She wore a white, down coat with a pale yellow scarf draped around her shoulders. In contrast to all the white she wore, her green eyes stood out. When she walked into the hallway, she was followed by the smell of flowers and a very light perfume. She was definitely a witch, a white witch.

Like evil magic brought upon decay and ugliness, white magic brought beauty and youth. In the year that had passed since Infinity embraced her endowment, her skin had become paler and her hair that had started off as a darker blonde, had lightened significantly. "Charlie?" I glanced over at Charlie who still seemed to be shocked that this woman was here.

"This… This is Alice Angel." Charlie said finally. "She is Olivia's godmother. Alice, this is my sister Infinity and Salem Bloor."

"Charlie wanted me to meet with you once before," Alice's voice was as beautiful and bright as she was. She gently took Infinity's face in her graceful hands to study it. "He said you were having trouble embracing your endowment but I can tell just by looking at you that you are doing lovely things."

"Where have you been?" Charlie interrupted their conversation with his heightened curiosity.

"I have been at my other store. It is a long, long way from here." A worried expression spread across Alice's once serene place. "I shouldn't have left though. I'm very worried about Olivia."

"With a good reason." Charlie said solemnly. "She betrayed herself and the Bloors more than likely know about her endowment."

Charlie quickly explained the events of Olivia, Infinity and Zelda's trip to Darkly Wynd, where Olivia had casted an illusion of a skeleton to allow her friends to safely escape. Alice listened intently, with a bit of pride on her face at Olivia's creativity and wild imagination.

It wasn't long before Paton and Maisie joined the conversation, curious at the visitor. Paton seemed to have known her from before, but Maisie wore a suspicious and reserved expression for quite a while before finally warming up to Alice. We all sat in the kitchen as Alice explained her trip back to the city. She had stopped to see Oliva herself at first, but Olivia refused to speak to her or come to the door, leaving Alice with nowhere else to stay until her former property was able to get heat and electric again.

"You can stay here." Maisie smiled kindly. "You can have Infinity's room. She has been staying with a woman named Katya Kettle recently." Her eyes rested on Infinity. "Though you won't be going back to the Kettle Shop tonight, not in this snow storm. You and Charlie will have to share a room." Then her eyes stopped on me. "And you'll be on the couch."

"Fine by me." I shrugged.

It was better than sleeping in the camper van.


	44. An Enchanted Sword

Chapter 44: An Enchanted Sword

When Olivia had mentioned that her godmother was a white witch like me, I hadn't expected to meet her so suddenly. But currently she was asleep in the room above us and it was rather comforting knowing that someone much more powerful than myself would be here to help if I somehow failed. However, meeting Alice and seeing the kind of person that she was gave me an incredible burst of confidence. Her aura commanded a room and calmed the people around her. Her footsteps were light, almost silent, and she was full of beauty and grace. She was a literal guardian angel that roamed the Earth.

I rolled over in my bed as my eyes focused to the darkness of the room. I could make out Charlie's silhouette. He too, was still awake. "Fin?" He called out to me. Although he was only a few feet away from me, his voice was so soft that I strained to hear it. "Can we talk about Lord Grimwald?"

In the excitement of everything else that had happened during this wicked weekend, I nearly forgot Salem's letter that advised me to reach out to Dagbert. If I was going to assist Dagbert, naturally I would need Charlie's help as well. "Yeah. I have been wanting to talk about him too."

"When Emma was here today, she told me that Cook stopped by and she had seen the Sea Globe for herself. They're keeping it in the Ballroom. She says it's a big, floating orb of water from all of the oceans. It glows and everything. She says it's kept in a clear case, too."

"I bet it's beautiful." I found myself saying. While it needed to be destroyed, I hoped that I could see it for myself first. "You do know that the only one who can handle Grimwald and destroy the Sea Globe is Dagbert."

"Yes." Charlie said a bit begrudgingly. "He wants me to help him. He asked me to take his Sea Gold creatures and hide them. He thinks it's the only way he will be strong enough to face his father. His mother made them from the gold of drowned sailors teeth and claimed that they would keep him safe. I'm having a hard time wanting to help him."

"That is entirely understandable, but Grimwald needs to die. Charlie, he killed Ailwyn, my adopted father." I had been avoiding the topic, but Charlie needed to know what he was capable of. My adopted father had been with experienced sailors and he himself had spent most of his life out on the sea, whereas my biological parents had little to no experience. "Eustacia knew I was endowed long before we ever flew here. And they knew what I was, too. They paid off Grimwald to capsize my father's boat boat and they paid my mother to bring me back. If Ezekiel and Titania want someone gone, Grimwald will succeed. It's very important that Dagbert trusts us."

He didn't speak for a while. I had actually thought he had fallen asleep until he finally spoke again. "I don't think he really meant to hurt Tancred as badly as he did. Those charms, he goes crazy if he doesn't have them." He let out a resigned sigh. "I'll speak with him on Monday."

 

On Sunday morning, I returned to the Kettle Shop. I left before anyone else could wake up. I wasn't good with good-byes and would only be able to handle Salem leaving again if he didn't make a giant production of it. He had been passed out on the couch when I tip-toed down the stairs. He had wrapped himself in a blanket like a cocoon and his hair flew off in all different kinds of directions as a sign of restless sleep. I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. I may had been imagine things, but I swore I saw the ghost of a smile on his lips.

In the kitchen, I left a thoughtfully scrawled note for Maisie and bundled myself in my winter boots and coat.

The walk back to Piminy Street had been exhausting and cold. I hoped that Katya and Zelda were awake and that there was a roaring fire in the fireplace and a warm cup of tea waiting for me. When I made it to Cathedral Square, more snowflakes began to fall. I could hardly believe it was April. Public school kids would likely have school closings due to the inconvenience of thick snow.

I could hear plows struggling to scrape the snow off of the cobblestones and business owners coming out to shovel their sidewalks. I watched my feet below me as I walked, hoping not to trip where snow piled up. Some homes and buildings, however, were untouched. I would have been a fool not to notice that the city seemed to have less inhabitants than usual. The air was so heavy and thick with evil that even the unendowed could feel it. Many had packed up all of their belongings and left the city, fearing something dangerous was about to happen.

After a very frosty journey, I finally made it back to the shop. I pushed the door open and was warmly greeted with heat and the scent of tea and fresh bread. Katya must have gone to the bakery that we both liked on Cathedral Close. She would buy the fresh bread and put it in the oven for a few minute so it would still be warm. I quickly sought out Zelda and Katya, ready to tell them about all of the exciting things that they missed.

I wasn't looking forward to returning to the academy the next morning, especially when I saw on the news that the public schools were closed and I knew that Salem would be leaving for Ireland. Zelda offered to drive me to school in Katya's truck, however. So I wouldn't have to deal with the exhausting noise of the bus so early in the morning. Katya's truck had better luck traversing the snow than the academy buses did. I arrived much earlier than everyone else.

Zelda helped me carry my things to the academy doors, which were unlocked and opened a few minutes later. I had been expecting Weedon, but instead we got Manfred. He glanced at me, then at Zelda. "Zelda." He said airily.

She ignored him and gave me a quick hug before descending the stairs. "Have a good week, Infinity. I'll pick you up Friday. Be careful."

"What are you doing down here?" I asked. "Isn't this Weedon's job?"

"If he had his way, you would be out here freezing until the buses arrived. Be thankful." He surprisingly grabbed my trunk and carried it inside for me.

"Gee, Manfred. Thanks for always looking out for me." I rolled my eyes and followed him into the music coatroom. He put my trunk along the wall and watched as I tossed my books into my locker.

"It's too early for your shit." He growled at me and dug his hands into the deep pockets of his black staff cape. "Why didn't you tell me about Olivia? You're the head prefect."

"You know why I didn't tell you." I could hardly believe that he had the audacity to say such a thing. "I've gotten word that Olivia isn't acting like herself. How are you controlling her? Did Venetia or Dorcas make something? Did Titania bewitch her? Did you hypnotize her?"

Manfred refused to answer me. He wouldn't even meet my gaze. I thought about my conversation with Salem a few days back, how he believed that Ezekiel had done something to Manfred and that I could probably lift the curse. The old Manfred, he would have grabbed me, maybe slammed me against the lockers for good measure. This Manfred, he wouldn't even look me in the eye. "Hey," I said, trying to get his attention. I reached for his hand and awkwardly held it in both of my own. He was ice cold and his hands were much bigger than my own.

"What do you want from me, Infinity?" He was finally able to look at me with confused and fearful eyes. I had never witnessed Manfred looking so vulnerable, not even on the day he may or may not have actually poured his heart to me. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you deserve to be in charge of your own life." His eyes were so sad that I felt my own heart breaking for him. This was the Manfred that I had believed existed deep down inside, someone who was sincere and cared about others. I sent some of my energy through him. I hoped that my white magic would be enough to flush out years of dark magic, even if I did it little by little.

We were interrupted by the sounds of other students filing into the academy. The buses had arrived. Manfred quickly pulled his hand away from mine and ducked out of the coatroom before he could be seen by anyone else. Charlie entered with the other music students shortly after. "Did you do something to Manfred?" He asked me as he approached my locker.

"Why do you ask?"

"I accidentally bumped into him on my way in here and he didn't even yell at me. In fact, he apologized." Charlie grimaced. Of course, Charlie had only ever witnessed the aggressive side of Manfred just like many of the other inhabitants of the academy had. Even the times that I witnessed any kind of humanity from Manfred had been few and far in between. "He hasn't been as intolerable lately."

"He still has his moments." I shrugged. "Salem seems to think he's cursed or something. That he only acts like an insufferable jackass because Ezekiel controls him with magic, and Titania showing up only made things worse." The smell of fish began to waft into the room and I turned my head to see that Dagbert had entered the room. "If you get the opportunity, you should speak with Dagbert today. He is in your classes and dorm, so it will look less suspicious if he's seen speaking with you than if he's speaking with me."

"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Can you try and keep an eye out for Liv? Alice is very worried about her and she wants us to try and figure out how they're controlling her so she can reverse it."

"Emma Tolly will have better luck than me, but I'll see what I can do for you. I'm sure I can find a rule that she has broken and pull her aside."

Charlie and I separated for the day, but the opportunity to speak with Olivia never introduced itself. She seemed to be actively avoiding us. I even watched her walk by Emma without saying a single word. When she joined us in the King's room that night, she sat a great distance away from everyone else. I glanced over at Manfred, who shot me a withering look back. "The headmaster wanted me to inform you that you failed to properly turn in your discipline forms last week." He stood to his feet and angrily slammed a folder down in front of me. I had turned in my discipline forms for the week, I was sure of it. "I don't understand why anyone puts you in charge of anything, you worthless girl."

The sudden shift in Manfred's personality got to me. I could feel my cheeks burning red and my eyes stinging with tears. Usually, I took Manfred's tongue lashings with pride or at least fought back, but today I felt that I had failed him. He wordlessly went back to his seat and I refused to lift my head as he irritably introduced Olivia as a member of our new elite group. I ran my fingertips over a folder that I didn't recognize. When I opened it, there was a single piece of paper inside. I recognized the handwriting as Manfred's. Unlike Salem's handwriting, Manfred's was professionally neat and every word was carefully thought out. Salem's handwriting was occasionally hard to read and he wrote in a mix of cursive and print. His thoughts often came too quickly for his hands to catch up.

_I'm sorry._

I wiped my wet eyes and glanced up at Manfred. He was already working on something and didn't seem to notice me looking up at him, but Dorcas did. She quickly nudged him, which seemed to irritate him further. He looked up at me with a scowl and I quickly looked away. "Do you want me to turn these back in to the headmaster, or do I give them to you, sir?" I quickly asked, trying not to raise any suspicion.

"Give them to me when you've completed them. I'll check them to make sure you're not wasting the headmaster's time with another arbitrary mistake." He waved his hand at me and went back to working.

Two hours slowly ticked by as I struggled to focus on my homework. My mind seemed to want to drift everywhere but my literature essay. I was starting to get frustrated and I could feel myself becoming more restless. "You're all dismissed. Bone, stay behind." Manfred's commanding voice finally broke the silence. Both Charlie and I stopped, looking at each other. "Infinity, I mean." Lysander hesitated to leave the room, but Charlie nudged him forward as if to tell Lysander that I would be fine. Once we were alone, he moved from his seat at the head of the table to the abandoned seat next to me. "I'm sorry I upset you." He spoke very quietly as if he was worried that someone would be listening outside. "I don't want you to save me, Infinity. With enlightenment comes guilt for all of the terrible things I have done. It's not worth it."

"What do you mean it's not worth it?" I tried to speak as quietly as he did and I found my eyes drifting up to the portrait of the king. The Shadow was still there and I felt as if he watched our every move.

"I have done horrible things and I don't think I can live with the guilt. I want you to let me go. I want to go down with them because it is what I deserve." He looked so distressed and thoroughly disgusted with himself. It wouldn't be enough or me to just lift the curse. Manfred would drown in the guilt of the things he had done. "I don't want to be aware."

"Manfred," I reached towards him to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but he pulled away.

"I'm sorry. For everything. For everything I did, for everything I will do. You're a good person. I hope Salem finds you again after this because you two are good for each other. He waited a long time for someone like you." He gingerly stood to his feet.

With a sad smile, he left me behind. The whole exchange put a bad taste in my mouth and I was more worried for Manfred than I ever expected to be.

 

At lunch the next day, Charlie quickly informed me that he had finally spoken with Dagbert and Dagbert knew that we were available to help. Charlie believed that Joshua would be the one to try and find Dagbert's protective gold sea creatures and that no one was to know where they were, not even us.

When it came time for break to start, I decided to go outside with the other students although I was always given the option to stay in the warm academy. I leaned against the cold brick exterior and scanned the courtyard, only half listening to whatever story Riley was telling me. There were children all over the place stomping the fresh fallen snow from the night before into a disgusting gray slush. Over by the log pile, I could see Charlie, Fidelio and Emma kicking around a soccer ball. Joshua stood by the old red castle walls conspiring with the Branko twins, and I struggled to locate Dagbert.

"You're looking for Dagbert. He went into the ruin." Riley said in a low voice. Sure enough, I could see Dagbert stealthily going into the castle. He was gravitating back to his charms and I knew Joshua could see him too. Not long after Dagbert went inside, Joshua followed, then Charlie.

"Shit." I looked over at Riley. "If I don't come back before the end of break, go find Lysander Sage and tell him where we are."

I tried not to draw too much attention to myself as I slipped into the ruin behind the boys. The walls reminded me of a maze and the only way I was even able to find the boys was because of a mix of their footprints and shouting. They were fighting and I was happy that I hadn't heard Charlie call out in pain at all. I ducked under arches and ran along slimy, crumbling walls. I finally ran down a long, mildew-scented tunnel and came out on the other side of a snow-covered bank. When I emerged, I witnessed Charlie get kicked in the nose by Joshua, who Charlie had yanked to the ground. Blood poured out of his nose and into his mouth, forcing Charlie to let go.

Dagbert held him down on the ground next and he was trying to peel the golden fish off of Joshua's skin as Joshua tried to shake him off. Dagbert was successful and got quite a few, but now he was starting to shake and was unable to do any more. Charlie wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and was about to try and stop Joshua from climbing back up the bank when a flash of silver flew by my head and a sword struck the earth with a loud twang. It had landed only centimeters from Charlie's hand.

"Get thee gone, wretched boys." Said an over-dramatized voice. "Or suffer the wrath of my sword." I didn't know how Ashkelan Kipaldi had gotten down the bank without me seeing him, but he was standing on the giant black rock Dagbert had hid his charms under, grinning triumphantly. Despite his ridiculous puffy pants and plumed hat, I knew that this man was dangerous. "Give me thy charms, Dagbert Endless." He held out a gloved hand.

"No." Dagbert shook his head and clutched the two charms he had pried off of Joshua to his chest.

Ashkelan scowled. "Tis a pity. Sword, do thy work."

"Run!" I screamed from the top of the bank, quickly sliding down and putting myself between the boys and the sword as it rose from the ground, it's deadly tip pointing straight at my heart. I summoned my own sword, ready to parry Ashkelan's attack. To both my surprise and Ashkelan's chagrin, my sword sliced directly through his like butter. It fell to the ground in two pieces.

"You vile, cursed, hateful witch!" He screamed at me. The sword began to rise again, the pieces reconnecting with each other as if they had never been separated and swung towards me. I grimaced as the sharp blade bit into my side before I could dodge it. I had expected pain, but only felt pressure. I ignored it and continued to block blow after blow. This was starting to frustrate Ashkelan.

I thought I was tiring him out when a scream from Joshua caught my attention and I stupidly turned my head. Ashkelan, seizing the opportunity, issued a command and his sword came flying right for my throat. "TO THE LEFT!" Charlie screamed. My brain barely managed to comprehend his command, but my body moved at the last possible second. Ashkelan had been so sure that his attack wouldn't miss, that he either didn't bother moving or didn't notice that he was in the path of his enchanted sword. He couldn't stop it in time. It entered his chest, just above the leather belt that held his scabbard. He fell back with a moan and his own sword buried deep in his chest.

The pain from my own wound slowly started to throb. When I glanced down, I could see drops of crimson speckling in the snow as the blood pooled around my cape and shirt. It was warm. "Dagbert, run." I commanded before losing my footing and falling to my knees. It felt more like a shooting pain now as the fabric rubbed against my wound. I tried to press my hand against it to staunch the bleeding, but I wasn't strong enough. I glanced up at my brother and Dagbert again. Dagbert took off up the bank, all of his sea charms in his hands. Charlie ran down to me and put my shoulder over his, struggling to lift me from the snow.

I had all of my weight against him as he steadied me to my feet. When had we grown to be the same height? Getting me out of the ruins was no small feat, but through his own pain and my patchy consciousness, he guided me out of the ruins on his own. When I could hear the sounds of the other children in the courtyard, my eyes grew too heavy. If I was going to heal a wound this deep, I needed to rest. If I didn't rest on my own, my body would force me to.


	45. Charlie: Sea Globe, Sea Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charlie's POV

Chapter 45: Sea Globe, Sea Gold

Charlie

Supporting Infinity and helping her out of the ruins was no easy task. When I finally got her out, I was grateful to see Riley Burns diligently waiting for her return. Either he saw her follow us into the ruins or she told him to wait for her. When he saw the blood that flowed from under her cape and stained her clothes, he immediately whisked her up from my own grasp and carried her into the academy. A few faculty members had hung behind wondering why the head boy refused to go back with everyone else, but Riley didn't care about the punishment. He refused to stop and answer their questions.

I had full confidence that my sister would recover completely. She just needed to give her body some time to rest. I was proud of her for selflessly throwing herself in front of us to protect us from Ashkelan. I had frozen up, closed my eyes in fear. The tables had turned and Infinity had been the brave one while I was the coward.

To avoid questioning from any of my teachers, I quickly ducked into a bathroom before my French lesson to make sure all of the blood had been scrubbed off of my face and I didn't have any on my uniform. Luckily my cape had been mostly clean, but my sweater would have to be trashed. I couldn't tell whose blood was whose.

When I decided that I looked decent enough, I ran to French where I knew I would be questioned by Fidelio. We didn't get a chance to talk in-depth about it until lunch, where Gabriel joined us.

They listened as I described the battle in the ruin, how Infinity had bravely fought the swordsman and although it had been my commands that saved her life, she still blocked all of his swings and took a lot less damage than I thought she would take against an expert fighter. When I described his death, Gabriel lit up. "I knew it! I took a good look at the portrait earlier when I passed it. I swear I saw a light in his eyes that wasn't there before."

"He's back where he belongs." I frowned.

"You know, come to think of it, I haven't seen Infinity or Dagbert since break." Fidelio pointed out. "Dagbert wasn't in French and I always see Infinity in the halls."

Although I had seen her come back from worse, I still worried about Infinity. She could heal herself, but she could also feel pain. "Infinity is in the infirmary. She got hit during the fight, right in the ribs. It was a pretty deep wound and she was bleeding heavily. Riley Burns stayed behind and carried her there. As for Dagbert, he has all of his charms now. But he's at risk. Mrs. Tilpin is going to be furious. I hope he's somewhere safe."

"That sounds a bit odd coming from you." Gabriel remarked.

"I help people who need me." I stared down into my soup. I only hoped that I would be strong enough to help Dagbert fight the Lord of the Oceans.

 

The storm began during my history lesson with Mr. Pope. The rain and the hail would come and go, but when it came, it was intense. The howling wind shook the windows and the hail pounded into the side of the academy, disrupting Mr. Pope's history test. As always, he was angry. His fist pounded into the desk and he screamed at us all, as if any of us could be responsible for the storm. This definitely didn't seem like one of Tancred's. The thunder clapped, causing the windows to shake harder and the lights to blink. "I'm going to go home if this continues. How can any of you idiots learn with this kind of distraction?"

A few children chucked in spite of the possible backlash that would come from the short, angry man. No one would care if he went home. "I suppose you have all heard about the storms at sea? No, I suppose you haven't." Televisions and radios were only allowed in the sixth year, but I was sure Infinity didn't care enough to pay attention. She hadn't said a word about it. "Well, I shall enlighten you." He raised his voice to speak over another loud clap of thunder. "Severe weather on the southern hemisphere has caused havoc on the coasts. Many drowned. Ships wrecked. Boats lost." I began to feel very sick just thinking about it. Infinity had mentioned that Grimwald had been responsible for the death of Uncle Ailwyn. Many people had been killed just so the death of one man would be possible. It seemed it was happening again. "The storms have been appalling. Waves a hundred feet high. Wouldn't fancy my odds in a boat. They don't stand a chance." He nodded at the rattling window. "Mind you, this his just a breeze compared to the tempests out at sea. But that's no consolation when you've got to teach history to a group of nitwits." And with that, Mr. Pope gathered his things and stormed out of the classroom.

There was twenty minutes left until the next lesson and no teacher to tell me to stay put, so Fidelio and I left. I wanted to speak with Cook while I had the free time and she didn't have any distractions. She knew more about Lord Grimwald than any of us did, possibly more than Dagbert knew about his own father.

We had almost reached the blue cafeteria when Dr. Saltweather walked out. He was surprised to see us, but didn't scold. He just wished to know why we were out of class and Fidelio explained that Mr. Pope couldn't teach in a storm. "If he thinks this is bad, then he should go try some deep sea fishing."

His comment made me feel worse and he almost looked guilty having said it. "Is it really that bad, sir?"

"I'm afraid it is, Charlie."

"My parents… They're out whale watching." I could barely choke out my words. I wanted to ask him if he believed that they were dead already, but Fidelio interrupted me.

"Do you know anything about the Sea Globe, sir?"

Dr. Saltweather paused for a moment, shocked that Fidelio even cared about the affairs of the endowed despite our friendship. "I have heard that it is here. And that Lord Grimwald can control the oceans with it."

Dr. Saltweather, much like us, had an endowment. He was not able to drown. I wondered if he, too, could control water and drown people like Dagbert. "Do you think you could help us? Help us stop him?"

"Only the son can do that." Dr. Saltweather said sadly, walking away from us and getting ready to turn down the hallway. "Be careful, Charlie. You should let the boy fight his own battle. Your sister can't bring people back from the dead."

As Dr. Saltweather walked away from me, I considered his words. If I tried to help Dagbert and failed, not only would I die, so would my parents and Infinity would be alone. If I did nothing, we would lose our parents but still have each other. But if I succeeded, then we would all still have a chance to be together.

I thought for a moment. What would my father tell me to do? What would Infinity want? They would both tell me not to do it, but all I could think about was my father striking old man Ezekiel to the ground, of Infinity jumping between Dagbert and the sword. If all of this went wrong, Infinity wouldn't be alone. She would still have Maisie, Uncle Paton and Salem. Uncle Paton and Salem together would be a deadly force to reckon with. "That look in your eye tells me that you're not going to regard Dr. Saltweather's advice." Fidelio's brows knitted with concern.

"He needs to be stopped, Fido. Look at all the lives he has ruined. He killed Cook's family and the only person that Infinity ever knew as her father. And not to mention all of the other lives he took just because he could."

"Maybe you should wait until your sister is awake and talk to her about this."

"You know as well as I do, when Infinity's out, she's out for a while. That wound would have killed anyone else. I need to do this without her. There isn't time to wait. I'm going to find Dagbert. And we're going to stop Grimwald."

I had a feeling that Dagbert would have decided to seek refuge in the music tower. Since my father had woken up and left the academy, the old tower had been marked off and no one was allowed to go in, but that wasn't enough to stop me. I didn't have the opportunity to look until my lessons were over. Fidelio offered to skip orchestra practice to help me search, but I didn't want to draw any attention.

As I stood in the music coatroom waiting for my chance to dash down the hallway towards the tower, Gabriel put his hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay, Charlie?" He asked.

I nodded to him. "I'm going to look for Dagbert."

"Do you want any help?"

"Not yet." I murmured. I waited for a few more seconds. When the hallway was deserted, I dashed as quickly as I could manage down the hallway and slipped behind the giant doors. To get to the music tower, I would have to pass the ballroom, where Lord Grimwald likely resided with his Sea Globe. When I passed the massive ornamental ballroom doors, I couldn't help but to press my ear to them. I could hear the gentle splash of water, then the booming sound of waves crashing. Grimwald was in there all right. I could hear him humming to the sound of his own drowning song. With each crash, I knew someone would be killed but I was powerless to stop him. I forced myself away from the door and was going to continue to my destination when a small figure appeared at the circular room at the end.

"Dagbert?" I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better look. "Where have you been?"

"Thinking." Dagbert replied. "I've got to stop him." He was holding his sea gold creatures close to his chest, as if he were afraid to drop them.

"But how? The curse – your father will try and overwhelm you." I was worried for the strange fish boy. While Dagbert was very powerful, I knew that Lord Grimwald had the ability to be twice as devastating.

"Yes, but no one else can stop him. I have to make an attempt or your parents will drown, Charlie." Dagbert approached me cautiously. "Since I have arrived here, I have watched you help many people. And you helped me, even when I didn't deserve it. You still tried to get my charms off of Joshua despite him kicking you in the face. Infinity put herself between me and a blade. I have my sea gold charms and they will stop him. My mother would have wanted it."

We stood side-by-side facing the ballroom doors. "If this is what you want to do, then I'm going to come with you." I said as Dagbert pushed open the doors.

Emma had given me Cook's description of the Sea Globe, but nothing could have prepared me for how magnificent and beautiful it really was. The floating sphere of rolling water bathed the room in a beautiful blue glow. The case of glass that I had been told protected it was gone. Nothing was blocking the roaring waves from nearly reaching the tops of the high ballroom ceilings.

Lord Grimwald was a large man. He had the same nearly drowned features of Dagbert, but on him it looked all the more dreadful. He had his back turned to us, but he was expecting Dagbert. "Son." He said gruffly. "Welcome. I see you have brought a friend."

Dagbert remained silent. He approached the globe slowly. He still held his charms firmly in both hands. I couldn't figure out what he was planning to do. Lord Grimwald refused to take his eyes off of Dagbert's hands. "Give me the charms." He demanded. His voice was soft, but his face was as hard as stone.

Dagbert was undeterred. He continued to approach the globe and I had no choice but to follow. Sea spray flew in our faces and soaked our hair.

"Give them to me!" Grimwald held out his hand. When Dagbert refused, he tried to intimidate him further. "Don't come any closer. If you harm the globe, it will destroy you."

I glanced at the globe, then at Dagbert's hands. I knew what his plan was. He wanted to throw his sea creatures into the sea. Would this be enough to calm the waves? Without his mother's protection, Dagbert would die.

"Give them to me!" Lord Grimwald roared, seizing Dagbert's clasped hands.

"No!" He fell to his knees, his body hunched over to protect his charms.

Snarling with fury, the Lord Grimwald raised his arm and a wall of water curled out from the globe. With an angry roar it rose to the ceiling and then began to fall. I was suddenly enclosed in a tunnel of thundering black water. I wasn't able to fight it or get away. I was forced to my knees beside Dagbert. Another wave rose. I knew that whenever it crashed, I wouldn't be able to breathe. This would be the end.

Just before it crashed down to swallow us, the sound of drums broke through the water. This was not enough to stop the wave. It crashed down on us hard. I couldn't move and I couldn't breathe. Loud shrieks and wails filled my ears. Were these the sounds of the other lives lost by the ocean?

Just when I thought my head was going to burst and my body would force me to try and gasp for air, the weight of the water was gone and I was able to open my eyes. I was laying on the floor in a pool of water, Dagbert's blue fist only an inch from my face. A golden fish floated through Dagbert's fingers and I quickly snatched it up before it could be washed away.

A black boot came down, crushing my fingers. An involuntary scream escaped my throat and I could feel one of them break under Grimwald's weight. The sound of beating drums however, made Grimwald step back and I was able to roll onto my back. Dagbert lay beside me, his eyes were closed, his face was blue and lifeless. His hands were empty.

"Dagbert?!" I screamed, shaking his limp arm with the hand that Grimwald hadn't crushed. He didn't move. I desperately wished I would have waited for Infinity. She could have fixed this.

Around me, the drum beats grew louder, faster and deeper. They filled the air with their threatening rhythm. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with my good hand. Lord Grimwald stood just a few feet in front of me. His back was turned towards me and he had his arms spread wide.

The blue sea light had been replaced by the red and gold of angry, leaping flames. I attempted to stand to my feet on weak and shaky legs. Now, I could see the cause of the flames and the drums: Lysander's spirit ancestors. Tall, dark figures lined the walls. There was not an inch of space between them. Their arms and necks were adorned with gold talismans, their robes were white, and their belts were colored like rainbows. Each man held a spear in one hand, a flaming torch in the other.

The drumming came from figures on the stage. Standing two rows deep, they beat their drums with feverish intensity. The chandeliers above me rocked and swayed. I wondered if they would eventually crash to the floor and shatter.

Lysander moved so fast around the great room that I could only catch a flimpse of his dark face and flashing eyes. The graceful whirl of his arms caused his cape to move through the air like a spinning green circle.

I stepped away from the Sea Globe, fearing that it would swallow me whole. From here, I could see Lord Grimwald's face. It was gray with fury and terror. He lurched from side to side, his arms outstretched protectively, as he backed towards his precious globe.

The lines of warriors stepped closer and closer to the globe. I could feel the burning heat from their torches. The intensity of the torches made clouds of steam rise from the globe. The spirits continued to advance and I began to feel very anxious and claustrophobic, entirely unsure of where I should go. They were almost on top of me, their dark faces only inches away. Then, they were on either side of me and I could taste the fire and the strong odor from their robes.

The surrounded the globe and their circle became smaller. Lysander continued to whirl around the room and the drums continued to beat.

I could no longer see Lord Grimwald from where I stood. He was trapped deep inside the circle of warriors. They were so tightly packed that their torches became a ring of fire. There was a loud, awful scream as the Lord of the Oceans was forced into the heart of the globe, overcome by the unforgiving seas that he had manipulated and drowned so many in.

The scream became a gurgle, then the gurgle became a desperate thrashing, as the Sea Globe steamed and boiled down, swallowing its master.

The warriors refused to budge and I was only able to see the very top of the globe as it became a very dull gray and reverted into steam. The patches of brown land crackled and shrunk. I had to drop down to my knees to see the rest of the fate of the Sea Globe. I watched the oceans steam and the land burn until it finally boiled away into nothing.

With the Lord of the Oceans dead and the Sea Globe destroyed, Lysander's ancestors began to back away. Their torches had died and their robes began to dissipate into clouds, until finally, Lysander, Dagbert and I were left alone. Where the Sea Globe had once stood, there now lay a small glass sphere no bigger than a tennis ball. It rocked back and forth in a pool of water next to Dagbert's unmoving body.

Lysander's hand came down on my shoulder and I gazed up at his grave face. "You finished it." I said. I thought that only the son of the Lord of the Oceans could kill him, but Lysander's spirit ancestors made quick work of him. I would not forget what I had seen for a long time.

"There was no other way." Lysander said grimly as his own gaze landed on Dagbert. "Perhaps it was too late for him."

"I should have waited for Infinity to get better. She could have helped him." I slowly approached Dagbert's body. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered and his arctic eyes were staring back up at me.

Dagbert gasped loudly and sat up. "Am I alive?"

"You are." I grabbed Dagbert's hand with my own and pulled him to his feet. With the excitement of the battle wearing down, my broken fingers were beginning to throb again. I pressed his golden fish into his palm. He spotted the rest of his creatures laying in a pool of water and scooped them up. "You're finally safe."

Dagbert gazed around the ballroom as he stuffed his gold sea creatures into his pocket. "Where is it? Where is the sea globe?"

Lysander picked up the small blue-green sphere and placed it carefully in Dagbert's hand. "It's…here."

Confusion clouded Dagbert's features as he studied the small globe. "How did it…?" He glanced up at Lysander. "Where is my father?"

"He was forced into the globe." I said awkwardly. There was no better way to tell him that he was holding his father in his hand.

Dagbert looked back at the globe with a mix of horror and fascination. It was then that Lysander grabbed Dagbert's shoulder and nudged him towards the doors. "You need to get out of here, Dagbert. Once the Bloors find out what happened to Lord Grimwald and the Sea Globe, they will be furious. We'll get you out, but then it's up to you."

"Where will I go?" Dagbert was desperate. "I know nobody in the city. I have no family."

I looked up at Lysander, but even someone so wise didn't have all of the answers. He couldn't go back to the fish shop, not when his guardians were on the Bloor payroll. My house was unsafe with Grandma Bone lurking about. The Pet's Café was closed. The only place I could think of that would be able to keep Dagbert safe was Mrs. Kettle's shop. Between Mrs. Kettle's strength, Zelda's powerful endowment, and Infinity's protection magic, he would be completely fine. Infinity would have to return home, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if that meant Dagbert would be safe and that he had tried to overcome his father. "There's a place on Piminy Street. It's a Kettle Shop. Its run by a woman named Katya Kettle. She's the one who trained Infinity how to fight."

"Is that a good idea, Charlie? Piminy Street isn't the safest place to be." Lysander frowned.

"I think it will be okay. Infinity has the place protected, and Mrs. Kettle and Zelda are strong-"

"Did you say Zelda? As in Zelda Dobinski?" Hiss eyebrows raised. I knew I would have to answer some questions from Lysander later, but now was not the time. "I guess it will work. Tell her you've come from us. And show her the globe."

"Tell her…" I thought of a code word for a moment. "Tell her 'Matilda' and she'll know you're with us."

While I hadn't really told my own sister about the magnificent girl I had met in Badlock, I had told Mrs. Kettle about her. She had been on my mind a lot lately. "Who is Matilda?" Dagbert frowned.

I felt my face burn hot and suddenly felt embarrassed to have mentioned her. "Don't worry about it. Just tell her and she'll know, okay?"

We helped Dagbert escape the academy. We lead him out to the gardens and I told him how to navigate the ruins to get to the wall that would lead him away from the academy grounds. I hoped that any footprints that I had left behind were still there to help him escape faster. Lysander and I watched as Dagbert disappeared behind the crumbled castle walls and the trees that had grown within them.

When Lysander and I hastened to the main hall, a figure stepped from one of the side hallways. Manfred Bloor stood with his arms behind his back and a strange look twisted on his face. Whatever bit of humanity I had seen in his eyes the day before was long gone. "Very impressive, Lysander Sage." His body was practically shaking with fury. "But you're too late. I'm sure you and that sister of yours will find a pleasant enough orphanage."

As soon as he appeared, he was gone. I hoped Infinity was okay in the infirmary on her own. I would have to go there myself due to my broken fingers, but it was a small price to pay for all of the lives I had saved. The nurse couldn't do much beyond wrapping my hand in a bandage and giving me a low-grade pain reliever.

I tried to look beyond the curtains to where Infinity was laying, but I wasn't having much luck. The nurse was beginning to fuss over my nose. I hadn't noticed that it was starting to bruise. "Are you looking for Infinity?" She asked me as she dabbed a bit of antiseptic onto my nose and put a butterfly bandage over it.

"Yes. Is she doing okay?"

"When Riley Burns brought her here, we had a hard time trying to staunch the bleeding. I thought she was going to need a hospital, but after applying some pressure on it, I finally got it to stop. By the time I got her all cleaned up, the wound had already closed significantly. I've checked her every hour since she got here and she has made progress every time. Do you want to see her?"

I quickly nodded and followed the nurse to the curtained area where Infinity was being kept. When she pulled back the curtain, we were both surprised to see Infinity sitting straight up and trying to pull at her bandages. When she realized she was caught, her cheeks began to redden. "You're awake already." I could hardly contain my shock. "You're getting faster."

"Did you really think that something as trivial as a flesh wound would get me down?" Infinity swung her legs over to the side of the bed. The nurse, who seemed to be used to her antics, didn't bother to try and get her to sit down. "Where are my clothes?"

"Absolutely ruined." The nurse frowned. "Riley Burns brought you down some new ones, and a new cape. I believe it was his spare."

Both the nurse and I gave her some privacy while she changed. She came out dressed in her own uniform, but she was practically swimming in Riley's cape. "I'll have to see if someone in the art department can clip this for me." She frowned. It was then that she finally noticed my hand. "What the heck happened to your hand?"

"I'll tell you on the way to dinner. We're going to be late."

As we walked to the dining hall, I quickly explained what had happened the best I could. As I spoke, I could see a variety of expressions cross her face. A lot of them happened to be anger, but she finally settled on relief. "You're very lucky that Lysander showed up when he did. Both of you could have been killed. You took a very big risk doing what you did, Charlie. But I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, but it may have been for nothing." I knew I should have been proud of my victory, but Manfred's harsh words kept pulsing in the back of my head. "Manfred said mom and dad are already dead. Whatever you did to him, it didn't work. He's back to his miserable self."

"I guess he and I will have to have a little talk tonight." Infinity's eyes narrowed and I could see her movements become more rigid.

When we arrived at the dining hall, we tried our best to quietly slip in amongst the other music students. Riley nearly choked on whatever he was eating when Infinity took her seat next to him and I slipped in next to Fidelio and Gabriel. They were full of questions, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to answer them at this time. The other children at the table were staring.


	46. Foggy Omen

Chapter 46: Foggy Omen

When I sat down at the music table next to Riley, I thought he was going to cry. He wrapped one arm around the shoulder and pulled me into a quick side hug before anyone from the staff would notice or say anything. "How are you awake already? I thought you were going to die before I got you to the infirmary. There was blood everywhere. Dr. Bloor had to call my dad and tell him to bring me a new cape. You have my other spare." He eyed the cape that sat on my shoulders that was two sizes too big. "If you need to, speak with someone in the art department and get that altered. I haven't worn it since my third year."

"I might have to do that." I tried to adjust it so I wasn't being swallowed by the blue fabric, but my attempts were all in vain. I was upset that my other cape had been ruined. It was a gift from Salem. "Was I really bleeding that badly?"

"It was horrible. If you look out into the courtyard, you can still see it in the snow. Dr. Bloor pretty much followed me all the way to the infirmary to make sure your blood wasn't getting on the carpet. Luckily our capes soaked most of it up." Riley shuddered. "I don't know if anyone saw me, but if they did, they don't have anyone to try and explain away the weird things that happen. That was always Salem's job. I guess Dr. Bloor lucked out that a lot of students were pulled out of the academy."

"Pulled out? What do you mean?" I scanned the dining hall. Riley was right, there seemed to be a lot less students than usual. However, students leaving the academy mid-week was unheard of.

"Even the unendowed are starting to sense that something bad is coming. A lot of people packed up their things and left. My mum wanted to leave too, but my dad wants to stay. He says whatever's coming, someone has to stay behind and fight it. You endowed lot can't do it on your own."

I was touched that Riley and his father cared about the city, but if Harken was coming, bad things were going to happen and we might not be able to stop him. "I don't know, Riley. Maybe you and your father should reconsider. Count Harken makes the Bloors look like saints. They're not playing around anymore. They're killing people and they don't care who gets in their way."

"I wish you would quit trying to push me away, Fin. I'm not going anywhere." He slid the rest of his plate over to me, for I had been too late to grab one myself. "Eat."

"Riley-" I tried to object but it seemed to only make Riley angry.

"Fuck. Just eat it, okay?" His angry outburst made a few people turn their heads. He just lowered his gaze and blushed. "Please?" He begged in a quieter voice.

I didn't wish to upset him any further so I began to eat from his plate. I hadn't realized it, but I was starving. I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Just as I nearly finished what was left, I heard the dining hall doors open and Mr. Weedon briskly walked inside. I watched as he approached Dr. Bloor and whispered something in his ear. No doubt, he would be telling him what Charlie and Lysander had done. Dr. Bloor leaped up, knocking his chair backwards with a loud bang that caught the attention of everyone in the dining hall. He rushed out, followed by Weedon.

"What happened?" Riley glanced over at me. "Were you out causing more trouble when you should have been resting?"

"No, Charlie and Lysander… I'll tell you after dinner." I glanced across the table at my brother who shot me a goofy grin. Of course he was proud of himself, even if it meant that we would eventually have to face the consequences.

Once the tables were cleaned up, Riley followed me into the blue coatroom and practically cornered me demanding to know what had happened. I tried to explain what Charlie had told me the best that I could, but it was hard to describe the kind of damage Lysander could do when he let himself go. He was easily the most deadly of the endowed. It was a relief that he had a heart of gold. I then choked to tell him that Manfred had told Charlie that our parents were likely already dead.

"He's an asshole, Fin. I'm sure your parents are fine. Neither of you know where they actually are, so whatever information they got from Charlie was guess." Riley reassured me. "Everything is going to work itself out." He placed his hands on either side of my shoulders. "I want you to look at me and tell me that you are a warrior."

"This is dumb-"

"You fought a medieval swordsman with an enchanted sword and won. Look at me and tell me you're a warrior."

"If I say it, will you stop shaking me?"

"Probably not." He grinned at me and shook me a little bit more for good measure. "Even if you won't say it out loud, just remember that you're strong. You should get to the King's Room so Manfred has no reason to yell at you."

I agreed and Riley and I parted ways. I was the last to arrive and Joshua Tilpin was most surprised to see me. He wouldn't look me in the eye. He was too terrified from what had happened earlier. I sat down in my normal seat directly across from Manfred. Lysander sat on my right side and Emma on my left. Emma could barely tear her eyes off of Olivia and I felt bad for the younger girl. Losing your best friend due to mind control couldn't be easy.

"That cape is massive. Don't you care about your appearance at all?" Manfred snapped at me.

"Sorry. My other cape had blood on it." I met his gaze and was surprised to see that his dark demeanor was back. I felt dizzy staring into his eyes. He was threatening to hypnotize me. Whatever progress I had made had been undone in the few hours I had been out. I was angry that he was refusing to try and change his fate, that he would rather go down with the rest of his sinking ship. "Where's Dagbert Endless?" I asked. I couldn't mask the smarminess in my voice or stop my condescending grin. He didn't give me an answer.

Despite the amount of time I had spent resting during the day, I had no trouble sleeping that night. I woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day. When I checked my wound, I saw that it was completely gone. I had made a full recovery in less than 24 hours. I happily threw on my uniforms for the day and Riley's oversized cape. During break I would have to track down Aria Patel, a prefect in the art department that had a knack for sewing, that is, if she hadn't gone home.

When I made it to the blue cafeteria for breakfast, I found that I was early and lucky enough to get some of the good breakfast, at least as good as oatmeal and toast could be. I grabbed an orange from the fruit stack and took a seat at my usual table. Riley met me shortly after, then Charlie. When Charlie came to the table, he looked absolutely troubled and exhausted. He placed a postcard in front of me.

Like the previous postcards, this one had the picture of a whale splashing through the waves on it. I quickly flipped it over and read my mother's flowing handwriting. _We're on our way home. It won't be long now! We've missed you both so much, but soon, we'll all be together. Your father says that you both mustn't look for the box. We love you. Mom xxx._

"Uh…what?" I looked over at brother and his perplexed expression made sense to me now. "How do they know that we're looking for the box?"

"I have no idea." Charlie took the postcard from my hands and read it over again. "That's definitely mom's handwriting."

"Either way, this is good news. It means your parents are alive." Riley tried to make light of the situation. "But what box are they talking about?"

I figured that if Riley wanted to stay behind, he was in danger already. Charlie and I filled him in as quietly as we possibly could. Riley stared back at us with bewilderment, as if he could hardly believe that the entire academy could be ripped from under the Bloors at any moment. "But the academy going to its rightful owner is the least of our worries anymore." I frowned. "If Harken comes back, none of this is going to mean anything."

 

The rest of the week went by without anything too exciting happening. When my energy had fully restored, I was able to heal Charlie's broken fingers. He had sat through the pain for a few days like a champ. When Friday came, Zelda picked me up in her truck as planned, but she seemed stressed out when I slid into the seat next to her. "There's a bit of a problem." She said finally, gripping the steering wheel. She put the truck in gear and pulled away from the academy. "Dagbert made it safely to the Kettle Shop, but he's very skittish. Well, Tancred stopped by earlier on a whim and…Dagbert absolutely lost his shit and booked it. He went to the bookstore and Miss Ingledew managed to get him to come inside, but he won't talk to anyone but Charlie. Katya and Tancred are there right now, but they're not having much luck."

"There isn't anything I can do if he'll only speak with Charlie." I pointed out. "But I may be able to calm him down."

"There's more." Zelda said darkly. "Piminy Street has become much too dangerous. Even with your wards, it's not safe. Katya says we can't go back. You'll have to go back home and Dagbert and Katya are going to have to stay with Miss Ingledew."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'll have to go back to my dad's house, I guess." She shrugged.

"That's stupid, Zelda. You can't be by yourself. Even though Alice Angel is staying with us right now, we have enough beds."

"Maisie is going to kill you if you keep inviting people to live in her house."

"She'll be fine." I snorted. "At one point, it was me, Salem, Charlie and Billy. Maybe you can keep Grandma Bone in check."

Throughout the drive, I noticed that a menacing fog was threatening to smother the city. Was this a sign that Titania was successful in bringing back the Count? Or was this something that happened whenever people with great, evil magic banded together? We drove towards the book store on Cathedral Close and parked our car in a parking lot of a seemingly abandoned business across the street. In the middle of the streets, suspicious looking people danced to music that came from old folk instruments. As they watched us, their faces contorted in malice. We picked up our speed and quickly ran into the book store, avoiding confronting any of these unsightly people. When we jogged down the stairs to where everyone else was, Emma and Charlie were nowhere to be found and were none the wiser about the situation at hand. She had gone home on the bus with Charlie and Maisie would have to relay the message to them. It was good to see Tancred again. He was helping Miss Ingledew tidy up from her last bout of customers and Katya was sitting in a comfortable armchair. She looked completely warned out. "My girl," She said happily, springing from the chair. "Dagbert told me that you fought that swordsman and won. I am so proud of you."

"It was an intense fight." I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck. "Where's Dagbert?"

"I put him up in Emma's room to rest. That poor boy is an absolute nervous wreck." Miss Ingledew, Uncle Paton's girlfriend, gave a sympathetic smile.

"I take it you have forgiven him then?" I glanced back over at Tancred.

He grinned at me and shrugged. "I certainly have, but I don't think Emma has."

"She can't be faulted for that, Tancred. She saw everything." Miss Ingledew spoke defensively. "If not for the Flames, you wouldn't be here."

"I understand that." Tancred said plaintively. "I don't blame her for that at all, but I also understand why Dagbert behaved the way he did."

"That's very mature of you, Torsson." Zelda smirked. She took a seat on a backless stool next to Katya's chair. "Though some people aren't meant to be forgiven." She glanced over at me and it didn't take me long to realize that she was really talking about Manfred. "Not every villain can get a redemption arc."

Tancred, not catching Zelda's double meaning or the fact that her comments were directed towards me, frowned. "Dagbert may have saved Infinity and Charlie's parents. He risked his own life to do so. You don't have to be so pessimistic all the time, Zelda."

"Yeah, Zelda. Quit being such a downer." I elbowed her and she dug her sharp nails into my arm. I suppressed my squeal and elbowed her again.

"Girls." Katya gave a warning. Just then, the tinkle of bells from the top of the shop door interrupted us. The bells were followed by barking as Runner Bean bounded into the room, following by Charlie, Benjamin and Emma. Upon seeing Tancred, Emma practically launched herself into the room and into his arms.

"Tancred! You're safe! I heard about the mustache and everything." She wailed.

"Mustache?" I looked over at Zelda and she just snickered.

"Charlie, Dagbert is upstairs. Why don't you have a word with him?" Katya spoke over Tancred and Emma's reunion. She was obviously worried for Dagbert's sanity. We all waited for a moment, hoping that whatever Charlie had to say would resonate with Dagbert. When he didn't come down after ten minutes, Katya shot to her feet and started up the stairs. There wasn't anything else we could do but follow behind her.

"You're one of us now, Dag." I heard Charlie say as we all began to flood into the room. Charlie was standing in front of Dagbert who was perched on the bed holding what was formerly the sea globe. He had a very ordinary, happy smile on his face. "And you'll be needed. Thinks are happening in this city."

Miss Ingledew spoke up first. "Charlie's right. Something is happening and I think we will all be tested in the next few hours. Half of the inhabitants of the city have left, and I predict that over the next few days, many more will go, until only a few remain. It will be tempting to leave before the fog finally encloses us."

"We must stay and fight!" Katya paced around the room. "Or the shadow will drag this city to the past, and the Red King and all his stood for will not even be a memory."

"Fight?" Emma said shakily. "With what?"

"Anything that comes to mind, dear." Katya put her hand down on Emma's shoulder to reassure her. "Unfortunately we have no way of knowing how or when Count Harken will make his move. It will be soon, I am certain. The growing ranks of the residents of Piminy Street, the increase in stone creatures, the fog, all of these things suggest that he will arrive soon. His conduit is cracked, but he will find a way. He is an enchanter, after all."

"Mrs. Kettle and I made some arrangements." Miss Ingledew butted in. "She will stay here with me and Emma. Dagbert, you too. Infinity and Zelda, you'll have to return to Filbert Street. Piminy Street is too dangerous and Infinity's protection wards can be easily countered if she isn't present."

"Before this happens, there's something I must do first." Charlie suddenly looked solemn despite Katya's pep talk. "I have to get Billy out of Badlock. I promised Cook."

I suddenly felt very guilty. I had almost forgotten about Billy. "I don't think this is the best time, Charlie." Miss Ingledew said gently.

"It's kind of a now or never thing." I pointed out. "If the Count gets banished back to Badlock again, there's no telling what he'll do to Billy upon his return. Do you know where the painting has ended up, Charlie? That's the only way in."

"I have no idea." Charlie said sadly.

Though I hadn't wanted to return to number 9 because of Grandma Bone, I was happy enough to be back with Maisie. She warned me that since Alice Angel had arrived, Grandma Bone had not been acting like herself, however. She had become very dazed and tired, as if Alice had her under some sort of spell. "I hope I can do things like that one day." I found myself saying, but the more I thought about it, I was already capable of something similar. I was so close to breaking through to Manfred. But the person that he had become, was that really him? Or was that whom I had influenced him to be? I wished I could talk to Salem about it, or even Zelda, but I knew she would just get angry.

After catching up with Maisie about my week and the resolution of the commotion at the book store, Zelda and I went up to the bedroom. I gave Zelda the single bed and took the top bunk of Charlie's bed. Charlie had gone up to my former bedroom to speak with Alice, and had yet to come back. Although it got later and later, he never came to bed. I eventually grew too tired to wait for him and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, Zelda was still out cold. I shambled down the ladder and looked down into Charlie's bed and it was still neatly made and empty. He had never come back to bed. I decided to up to Alice's room and investigate. When I knocked on the door, I was surprised when Emma answered. She looked completely terrified.

"Emma? What are you doing here? Where's Charlie?" I looked down at her hand. She was grasping the Mirror of Amoret, except that the offending crack down the middle was gone. "Oh no… Don't tell me…"

"He said he went in after Billy, but I saw who he was thinking about. He was thinking about a girl, the Count's Granddaughter. Matilda. I think Charlie has a crush on her." She quickly explained.

"Emma, how did you get this mirror?" While I wanted to know more about this girl and I was hurt that my brother hadn't told me about her, I was confused as to how the mirror got here, repaired, in the first place.

"I um…" She shifted uncomfortably. "I broke into one of your great aunt's houses this morning. It was in her basement. I became an eagle and smashed through the window. I brought it here right away and Claerwen was able to repair it."

"Claerwen is with him?" I felt a little bit of relief knowing that his moth was at his side, but I still wished I had been consulted. "That still doesn't explain why Charlie was up here all night."

"Well, Alice Angel said that Matilda had communicated with her when she touched that window over there." She nodded to where an armchair had sat covered in a sheet. "So he stayed up here all night, his hand on that window, waiting for her."

I frowned. Leave it to Charlie to fall in love with a girl over a thousand years out of his time. I felt almost sad for him, because I knew he would try to bring her back but probably not succeed. It would be too much on Claerwen to bring him, Billy, and another person back.

Emma and I decided that the best thing we could do is sit and wait. After about ten minutes of waiting, Zelda joined us and we were able to fill her in on what happened. We waited for at least a half an hour in total before the mirror that sat on the floor between us began to vibrate and shake against the wood floor. All of us moved back and could hardly believe what was happening. One moment, it was just the three of us, and in the next, there were five plus a rat.

Charlie and Billy had landed on their backs in the center of the floor. Charlie was wearing some kind of strange robe and hat, Billy was wearing what I assumed was once a very nice older outfit that was now torn and dirty. Emma quickly tended to Billy while I pulled Charlie to his feet. "Why didn't you tell me about Matilda?" I couldn't mask the hurt in my voice, and Charlie actually looked guilty.

"Doesn't matter now. I'll never see her again." He said sadly, pushing passed me.


	47. Harken Returns

Chapter 47: Harken Returns

Saturday morning on Filbert Street had been a busy one. Charlie had successfully brought Billy and Rembrandt back, but he didn't look as happy as he should have. I watched him struggle to push Matilda out of his mind, but I knew he wouldn't succeed. I felt bad for him, but although Matilda may have been a good person, she was still living with the Count.

Things were finally starting to come together for us, and for that, I allowed myself to be happy. Alice and Emma had concocted a plan to help Olivia, I had a confirmation that Alice in fact had Grandma Bone under a spell, and Uncle Paton and Salem had come home in the middle of the night. When Miss Ingledew came to pick up Emma, it had woken both Uncle Paton and Salem from their slumber. Miss Ingledew refused to stay and talk with Uncle Paton and I wondered if they were fighting. I, however, was so excited to see Salem wander out of the living room that I nearly broke my neck descending the stairs to get to him.

"I'm so happy you're here. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to return with the fog." I said, wrapping my arms around him tightly.

"It seems that I won't be able to leave again any time soon either." He grinned his stupid, goofy grin and I felt even happier.

"Come on, I have some good news." I grabbed Salem's hand and practically yanked him back up to my former bedroom where we decided that Billy had to stay so no one would know that he was back. When we stepped into the room, everyone seemed to be trying to kill a fly that had flown in.

"A fly? Aren't they all supposed to be dead?" Salem asked.

"This fly came back with us from Badlock." Charlie said. "Alice has a bad feeling about it." It flew behind some heavy furniture and there was no way for us to get it.

"I'm going to go catch Maisie up on what has been going on." Alice slipped by us to get to the kitchen.

"And I'll get some clean clothes for Billy." Charlie added.

"Full house, huh?" I noticed Zelda sitting in the corner tending to a few scrapes Billy had gotten in Badlock.

As the day went on, the fog got thicker and Miss Ingledew's prediction came true. The mayor and the councilors and a handful of police officers left the city. With no one around to enforce law, the many villains that resided in the shadows were free to do what they wanted. Before we all went to bed that night, Maisie made sure every single window was sealed and every door was locked.

Once she declared us safe, we were allowed to go to bed. Our slumber didn't last long however, because everyone in the house was awakened by a deafening explosion that shook the house. Everyone ran out of their bedrooms and onto the landing. Salem, who had been asleep in the living room, ran to the front door that had been left wide open and a cold wind whipped into the house.

"What was that?" Maisie cried.

"It sounded like a meteor strike." Uncle Paton rubbed his eyes.

"Or a bolt of lightning." Charlie added.

"Or," Alice spoke so quietly that I almost couldn't hear her. "it was the sound of a fly turning into something much larger."

I looked back at her in horror. I had forgotten about the fly that had come from Badlock. Naturally, the Count would be skilled in shape shifting. A feeling of dread filled my chest and I wished to disappear. I knew he was coming, but I thought we would have more time to prepare.

"If that is him, he's probably going to the academy." Salem dead-bolted the door again and pulled a blanket tight around his shoulders. "He's here for a fight."

"We have had hardly any time to prepare for this." I looked back at Uncle Paton. For the first time, I knew he didn't have all of the answers.

"We have no choice. We can't just stand back and let this happen." Zelda cut in.

If the Count was heading to the academy, that meant that it would be too late for me to do anything for Manfred. I had run out of time. "Salem, I'm so sorry. There was nothing I could do for Manfred. I tried, but I ran out of time."

"It couldn't be helped." Salem said solemnly.

"It was a waste of her energy if you ask me." Zelda added stiffly. Salem glared at her but didn't say anything.

"It seems that no one is going to get any sleep tonight." Maisie grumbled. "I guess I'll put on some tea."

Everyone, excluding Billy, filed into the kitchen and took a seat as Maisie put her kettle on the stove and placed a package of cookies between all of us at the table. No one else seemed to want to speak, but there was no way we were going to be able to sleep soundly after everything that had happened. I put my head on the table and wondered what would happen if we stayed in the city even longer.

"My family is way in over their heads. This isn't going to play out the way they want it to. This man is much more sinister than they could ever imagine." Salem placed his hand on the back of my head and massaged my scalp gently.

"Serves them right. At least if we fail, I'll know that they got what they deserved." Zelda spat bitterly.

"You shouldn't keep that kind of negativity in your heart." Alice frowned at Zelda. "Wishing ill-will on others makes us no better than them. It'll make you feel better if you just let it go."

"She's right, you know." Said Salem.

We sat for a while longer, at least until our nerves were calmed enough that we could all go to bed. As we went to go back to our bedrooms, the doorbell rang. "Seems that we're not going to get any sleep tonight." Uncle Paton sighed as he walked into the hallway. "Who is it?"

"It's me! Cook!" A voice called out on the other end.

I heard him unbolt the door and Cook practically dashed in. When she walked into the kitchen, she had a large suitcase and a leather bag. Her eyes stopped on Salem first. "This is where you have been this entire time? I was worried about you, stupid boy." She scolded. Salem scooped her into a quick hug in an attempt to calm her down. "I've left Bloors."

"What? Why?" Charlie took his seat back at the table while Maisie put yet another kettle on the stove.

"The balance is gone, Charlie. You can never go back there. None of you can. It's all over."

"What's all over?" Zelda pulled out a chair from the dining room so Cook could sit. Cook eyed her warily but took the seat anyway.

Alice, who had almost been up the stairs when the doorbell rang filed back into the kitchen. "Alice Angel! I'm so glad you're here. What a difference it will make." She glanced at me. "Not that you're not a good witch, Infinity."

Alice smiled and sat down next to her. "Why don't you tell us what's going on, Cook?"

"He's come back." Cook couldn't control the tremble in her voice. "Count Harken. It's too late for all of us. We need to leave."

"It's not too late." Alice said optimistically. She glanced over at me as if to ask to help calm her down. I put my hand on Cook's shoulder and it seemed to help her a bit.

"The fog is very thick. I could hardly see my way here. Some street lights are out and I could hear looters on High Street. I had to come the back way to get here."

"What is going to become of us?" Maisie poured a cup of tea and sat it in front of Cook. "What can we do?"

"Plenty." Uncle Paton said firmly. "I wouldn't want to leave this city even if I could. It's worth fighting for and I know you all agree."

"But what about mom and dad?" Charlie asked. "If we can't get out, they can't get in, and they're on their way here."

"And they will be." I said confidently. I don't know if I meant it or not, but Alice looked at me as if I had said the right thing.

Although it had been an exciting night, it was time to sleep and Maisie had yet another person to house. In total, she had ten people under her roof and had to make room for them all.

 

Throughout the night, the fog had finally crept over the city and smothered us all in a gray crowd. I could smell ash and smoke in the air. The cathedral clock still chimed as it did every hour and everyone still rose from their beds although we all had very little sleep. I even gave in and had coffee with breakfast.

"What's the plan for today?" I asked, glancing at Charlie.

"We're going to Olivia's." Charlie spoke with a mouthful of eggs. "If Alice and Emma were successful, she'll be herself."

"Who is we?" Maisie asked, not wanting any of us to leave the house.

"Tancred, Lysander, Gabriel and I. You're welcome to come, if you would like. But we'll be bringing her back here."

"No thanks." Zelda stared into her cup. "I don't want to take my chances wandering around in the fog. I'll wait here."

"I think we will too." Salem spoke for me and I didn't object.

"Then what?" Maisie looked so anxious that I feared she would have a stroke if she didn't calm down.

"I guess we go find the Count and we make him leave." Charlie shrugged. "I haven't thought that far."

"Charlie!" She wailed. I shot him a dirty look, but there was no way to plan a fight. Some of us may not survive it, but it had to happen. I had confidence that the Red Knight was around the city, and even if he wasn't the King himself, I knew he was powerful and would see us through. If none of us could best Harken, then he would.

So it became a waiting game. I knew Charlie would be safe alongside Tancred and Lysander, but it didn't stop me from worrying anyway. Even Alice looked worried. If her vest didn't work, Olivia would be lost forever.

Luckily for us, it seemed to work because Olivia's voice was the first that I heard when the door opened. She launched herself into the kitchen and into Alice's waiting arms. Their reunion was interrupted when Maisie cleared her throat. "So what are Cook and me supposed to do? Just wait and wonder?"

"Maisie, we'll be okay." Salem said clearly. "Cook, have I ever let you down?"

"Tch." She rolled her eyes at Salem and grinned, before reaching up to pat his cheek. "You were always a good boy, Salem. I trust you. Maisie and I will be here. We'll keep the balance together."

And with that, we left the house and a large group of us traversed through the fog and up High Street. We were greeted by two figures looming out of the fog, one large and one smaller. Dagbert and Katya waited and Katya looked every bit as confident and cheerful as I thought she would.

"Is Julia alright?" Uncle Paton asked her.

"Just fine. Piminy Street is deserted. No one is there to bother her now."

"That means that they're all on the Heath."

"Yes, it does. But we can cope, can't we?" Katya pulled back her coat to show us all that she carried a beautifully crafted and equally deadly sword with her. I summoned mine as well, and those who had never witnessed me use it before gaped in awe.

"Shouldn't we have one of those?" Charlie eyed my sword warily.

"You have your endowments, my dear." Katya said. "You would be more a danger to yourself than others trying to use a sword without proper training."

"They don't amount to much." Charlie murmured. Of course, Charlie's picture traveling wouldn't help him but he was a powerful magician. I did worry for Gabriel and Billy, however.

"Listen, my dear. You are children of the Red King. That's all you will need when the time comes."

With that, we continued to walk. I watched Dagbert as he walked beside Charlie. He had changed quite a bit since the death of his father. With his curse broken, he no longer had the fishy smell that repelled people from him. His skin had also lost its green tint. He looked like a perfectly ordinary boy, but I knew that deep inside he was still just as powerful as he had been before.

Before we could continue much further, I heard someone call out. When we all turned to look, I saw Benjamin's dog bounding towards us followed by Benjamin, Fidelio and Riley. There was another form further behind them, walking very slowly. "Don't just run ahead like that, you could get yourselves killed!" It barked. I recognized that voice right away.

A familiar mop of red hair followed by glowing amber eyes made me nearly squeal with excitement. I hadn't expected to see Asa again. "You left without us, you know." He smirked at Charlie. "I was going to come alone, but these guys insisted on coming too. Had to babysit them the whole way here."

"Asa, we're glad to have you. But these guys can't come. They're not endowed." Lysander said coolly.

"So what?" Fidelio frowned.

"You won't be safe. You need protection." Tancred added.

"We'll be fine." Riley held out the aluminum baseball bat in his hand and Asa snickered from behind him.

"What about your parents?" Alice said gently. "Didn't you tell them what you were about to do?"

"We left notes, and we're coming." I had never seen Fidelio speak so defiantly.

"I'm sorry boys," Uncle Paton began.

"Natalia." Zelda called out in an attempt to warn us that there was someone approaching, but before she could do anything, there was an explosive crash. The traffic lights toppled over and laid broken in the intersection. The misty figures of Zelda's aunt and cousins could just be made out.

"Traitor!" An angry voice called out.

There was no way for anyone to turn back now, so we let them join us. We were now a group of eighteen as we headed towards our destination with the Brankos causing heavy damage behind us. Chimneys toppled and windows broke. Abandoned cars could be heard after their alarms started to blare. Before us, a lamp post crashed to the ground and glass shattered into thousands of shards.

Both Uncle Paton and Zelda had reached their limit. Together, they caused equally devastating damage as Uncle Paton exploded window panes and Zelda sent the glass shards from them pointed directly at her family. Yelling and shrieks could be heard as they retreated down the street.

Uncle Paton and Zelda shared a subtle high five before we continued our march down the street. Asa fell into step next to me, his hands in his pockets. "I came back to keep you safe." He said in a low voice, as if he didn't want Salem to hear. "I owe you that much."

"You repaid your debt, Asa." Salem spoke up before I could. "But I'm happy you're back."

When we passed the academy, no one came running from the doors to attack but we were joined by Dr. Salthweather and Charlie's trumpet teacher, Senor Alvaro. I felt a little bit safer having the two intimidating men among us, but I hadn't known that Senor Alvaro was endowed.

The Heath lay on the left, just beyond the academy. It was a wide stretch of tough grass and gnarled shrubs that stretched over a mile long. It seemed like the perfect place to have a battle, though I was surprised that they had decided to fight on an even playing field. The whole place seemed to be deserted. I couldn't see the Red Knight anywhere. We stood at the edges, watching, waiting.

I thought I could hear something, but I wasn't sure. Runner Bean's ears perked up and a low, warning growl came from Asa's throat. In the distance, two bloodthirsty Rottweilers bounded down the field, running on commands that came from none other than Dorcas Loom and her pimple faced brothers. Runner Bean looked ready to attack, but I knew he couldn't handle those two dogs on his own. Asa was shaking and I thought he would turn, but he appeared to be biding his time. Tancred began to call forth a storm and Katya and I had our swords ready. Billy Raven quickly shoved us aside and ran towards the two dogs.

He was barking and howling, intensely enough to intimidate the other dogs to drop to their haunches and whine. Billy issued commands in their language that none of us could understand. I watched in awe as the two dogs bared their teeth once more, but this time at their masters. With piercing screams, Dorcas and her brothers were on the ground, cowering in fear as the dogs paced around them. When they were satisfied in their submission, they came back to Billy and licked his hands.

"One down. Three more to go." Charlie said quietly.

"Manfred won't show his face." Salem scoffed.

"We always did the dirty work for him." Asa added. "But that boy is here, the one with the stones."

Stone creatures emerged from the fog. "It's Eric, what do we do now?" Charlie asked.

"Stop them." Tancred grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward with him. "Come on, Infinity. It's our turn."

There was a violent clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning shot through the fog, cracking one of the stone creatures in the head. "Tancred, I need you to clear the fog. I can't see well enough to fight."

"Of course." He lifted his jacket and began to whirl it around his head. As the fog lifted, I could see more stone creatures lumbering towards us at disturbing speed. I lifted my sword and cut through a large stone gargoyle. The large stone pieces dropped from the sky and landed on the ground next to me.

With Tancred's support, I dispatched a few more and he lifted the fog even higher. I almost wished I could unsee the vast army of trolls that bounded towards us with large spears, pikes and axes.

"Harken brought mercenaries." Uncle Paton stepped to my side and pulled out a slim, rapier like sword. As soon as his sword met the air, a flash of electricity spun from his hand and down the length of the sword. "You're not the only one who has been practicing, my dear." He grinned at me. Katya brandished her sword as well.

Tancred, Uncle Paton, Katya and I charged towards the army. I knew I was taking damange as clubs and hammers hit me, but I didn't seem to feel it. I fought them hard and gave more than I got. Lysander's ancestors joined in on the battle and I could feel the support of the white robed warriors as I sliced into the army of trolls. Mr. Torsson had arrived and he and Tancred rained down heavy bolts of lightning into everything that crossed it's path.

Titania made herself known and I could see spikes of ice raining down from her fingers. It was her that pierced me, hard enough to bring me to my knees. I knew I was bleeding and the pain was too much. I was losing my focus and if I didn't get up, I was going to die.

A blood-curdling howl erupted through the air as a giant gray beast ran through the downed trolls, putting itself between me and Titania. It sunk its teeth deep into her arm before there was a cloud crack and she threw Asa aside. I heard another deep growl as a beautiful red leopard jumped between us. Titania ran and I was able to get to Asa. He looked like he had also been speared with a devastating bolt of ice. He was breathing but I couldn't get him to move. I was trying to lift him from the ground when I heard a shriek and saw a bright light. When I looked over, Titania was on the ground and Alice was walking away.

I dragged Asa's body away from the wasting trolls. He was slowly starting to turn back into a boy again, and that wasn't a good sign. "Come on, Asa. Wake up." I pleaded. I could hardly see through the tears in my eyes or concentrate with the sounds of battle that surrounded me. When I looked around, I could see Charlie crouched next to Uncle Paton. He wasn't moving and there was an arrow sticking from his chest.

I could see Salem trying to yank Zelda away from the woman with red ringlets and a sixth sense. She was brandishing a slingshot and Zelda was screaming and holding a hand over her eye. The woman suddenly dropped to the ground. Her expression was blank. Salem had done something to her. I searched for Riley and I couldn't see him anywhere. "They're all falling and I can't save them." I now hovered over Asa's completely human body. His chest was completely torn up and he was struggling to breathe. I put all of my energy towards healing myself so I could better help Asa, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything in time.

An awful laugh rolled across the great field. The enchanter's voice boomed into my ears as if he was standing above me. "It's all over! GO HOME! The city is mine!"

"No, no, no!" I screamed, covering my ears. I didn't want to hear his voice nor see his face. I heard his giant black mare scream as it galloped across the field. The storms subsided, the drum beats quieted. I tried to wipe some of the blood away from Asa's face, but I found I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. We were losing and I couldn't save anyone.

All I could do was scream. So I screamed. I screamed at Asa for putting himself in danger for me. I screamed at Salem for letting it get this bad when he could have stopped it a long time ago. I screamed at my dad for leaving us here to clean up the mess he made.

All at once, a brilliant bright light shot across the heath. The leopards leaped up with their ears pricked forward and the black stallion reared itself, nearly knocking it's rider to the ground. The leopards bounded towards the source of light. I squinted to try and see where it was coming from. A beautiful white mare stood on the edge of the field with the magnificent Red Knight on her back.

"At last." The Enchanter roared.

His black stallion thundered towards the white mare. Their swords were drawn and I almost couldn't tear my eyes away from him until Salem's voice snapped me out of it. "CHARLIE! NO!" He yelled, his voice cracking and raw. Charlie had managed to break from his paralysis and was trying to run between the two great figures. There wasn't anything I could do, but I did breathe a sigh of relief when he didn't make it in time. I quickly turned my attention down to Asa and tried to heal him as quickly as possible.

When I succeeded in my task and he was breathing easily, I looked back up at the fight before me. The Red Knight seemed to be growing tired and his head was lolling side to side as he tried to block the Enchanter's blows. I saw the opening to finish the fight, and I had no doubt that the Enchanter did too.

He rose his sword to piece the knight's breastplate when I saw Charlie run. He ran with speed I never thought a boy his age could achieve. I watched as he leaped for the stallion's harness, and with all of his strength, drug the horse towards the ground, knocking the Enchanter off balance. "CURSED BOY!" I heard the Enchanter roar, but then I saw the Knight take his chance and pierced the Enchanter with his sword, directly through the heart.

The Stallion reared and knocked the Enchanter off of its back. He hit the ground with a loud thud, the sword still buried in his chest.

I looked up at the sky and could see that the fog was rapidly clearing. The blue sky and beautiful sun shined through. The ghostly army seemed to disappear with the fog and the scoundrels of Piminy Street limped away with their heads hung low.

I looked around and saw that no one seemed to be fatally injured. Alice was helping Uncle Paton, Zelda had uncovered her eye and it looked like it was still there, the leopards were moving around the field and nudging the injured back to life. I felt Asa's fingers curl around my wrist and I looked down into his yellow eyes. "I don't think I'll ever pay back my life debt to you." He grinned.

I punched him hard in the chest and rolled him off of my lap. "Don't you ever do something that stupid again! You could have been killed."

"Eh, it was worth it." He gently pushed me back.

I shakily stood to my feet and scanned for the Red Knight. He was on his back, only a few feet away from Charlie. The white mare guarded his body and I feared he was injured. I ran across the field and Charlie and I managed to reach him at the same time. "Oh my god, he's bleeding." I looked at the red liquid seeping through is chainmail.

"What do we do?" Charlie looked at me, panicking.

"Fuck. Take off his helmet. But be careful." I raised my hands, ready for my healing spell. As Charlie slowly pulled off the helmet, a familiar face was smiling back up at us.

"Dad?" Charlie and I spoke in unison.


	48. Proper Inheritence

Chapter 48: Proper Inheritance

The city had not been as deserted as I thought. As soon as the battle had ended, ambulances and police cars could be seen parked along the edge of the field as EMTs loaded injured people onto stretchers. Although I had healed the worst of my father's wounds, he was still loaded onto a stretcher and carried into an ambulance.

Charlie and I weren't sure what to say or think about the situation. I could feel his hand wrap around mine and we watched as many people we loved and cared about were carried off. He needed me to keep him calm and it was the least I could do. "Both of you two should probably be taken into an ambulance." An officer by the name of Singh checked us out. Sometimes I swore he and his partner Officer Wood were the only police officers in the city.

"We'll be fine." Charlie said, looking over at me. I nodded in agreement. "I'm just worried about our parents. Our mom should be notified."

"I've called her already." Officer Singh smiled reassuringly.

We were taken to the hospital anyway, but we already knew we were going to be fine. Our mother was waiting for us when we got there, and nearly squeezed us half to death outside of the room where our father's remaining wounds were being dressed.

"I don't understand." I looked at her. "The postcards and foreign stamps. Charlie kept seeing a boat-"

"I am so sorry." Mom brushed the hair from my face and hugged Charlie a little tighter with her free arm. "We hated doing this to you, but we had to make sure that the Bloors never found out who the Red Knight was. Not through any of their dirty tricks. They would have done horrible things to both of you. Infinity, I couldn't let you go through that again. Not after how badly you were hurt the first time. And if it would have happened to Charlie, he wouldn't have had a chance. We needed them to believe it was someone else wearing the cloak and riding the white mare."

"They thought it was my pap." Salem's cheerful voice came from behind me. I hadn't heard him sneak up on us. "It was him on that boat the whole time, you know. He was a fantastic sailor and he survived Grimwald's storms. They're on their way back now."

"You were in on this?" I glared back at Salem.

"Since we rescued Asa." He shrugged. "Like your mom said, we couldn't tell you."

"If you ever lie to me about another thing as long as we are both alive-" I was flustered and didn't know what to say. Salem just kissed the top of my head and grinned.

"I'll never have to lie to you again, so you don't have to worry about a thing. Come on. Let's go get something to eat." He tugged at my hand and pulled me away from my family. They gave kind smiles and waved as we wandered down the hallway towards the cafeteria. We sat down in a quiet corner and he leaned close to speak to me. "Look, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, but it would have put you in danger. I was only in the loop because Pap told me that he was going onto the sea in your father's place, but he wouldn't let me in on anything else. The night Manfred took advantage of you, I went back to the dorms and when everyone else fell asleep, I thought I could hear something in the courtyard. I went to the window and saw the Red Knight standing there beneath the tree and he spoke to me. He told me everything. That he had a plan. I guess that's what set me off so badly that next day, that you were going to sabotage everything your father was trying to do and I couldn't tell you what was going on. I got so frustrated, I snapped."

"What was the plan?"

"Your father is a smarter man than I thought. He planned out everything with such careful attention to detail that I was surprised you didn't have a hand in the plot." He grinned. "Your father needed some time alone to remember where he had placed the box that held the will. Because no one that is alive remembers where it is, I wasn't able to help and Lyell needed to remember on his own. He didn't want to ask you to help him regain his memory just in case Ezekiel tried to kidnap you again. He decided that the best way to handle this situation would be to pretend to go on a second honeymoon far away and not tell you or Charlie anything. From there, your father assumed the identity of the Red Knight and your mother went to go stay with Officer Singh's father in an academy far away from here. Kumar Singh, I knew he was special. When Charlie and Billy were hiding at the Hundred Head's dinner, he caught them and warned me that they were there so I could help them escape. After all of that was completed, there was only one loose end left to tie up. Part of Charlie's endowment allows him to work almost like the Mirror of Amoret. If he thinks hard about someone, he can find them. To keep that from happening, your father recruited Senor Alvaro to apply at the academy and work as Charlie's teacher. Senor Alvaro has the same endowment that I do and was able to alter Charlie's thoughts and throw Manfred and Eustacia on the wrong trail."

"Is there anything else that you think I should know?" I eyed him warily. I knew that he had only been lying because he thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but I still didn't like it.

"I think you're all caught up." He stood from the table and stretched his arms. "Though you should go speak with your father yourself. I'm sure there's plenty that needs to be said between the two of you."

He wasn't wrong. I had a lot of mixed feelings about everything that I had learned. When I was sure that Charlie had gotten to speak with him, I made my way to his room. When I pushed the door open, I wasn't surprised to see him with a bandage wrapped around his head and his arm was in a sling. The deep wounds that had been caused by the Enchanter's sword were gone. He stared up at me with glassy, dark eyes. The nurses were taking good care of him and he was filled with a good amount of pain killers.

"I don't even know what to say to you." He spoke before I could say a single word. My heart dropped. Was he angry with me? I hadn't gotten to spend nearly as much time with him as I should have when he had woken up from his hypnotism. He was still having a hard time piecing things together, but now, I knew that his memories were whole and I knew that he had been watching over Charlie and I the whole time. Did he know how close I had come to betraying Billy? "You have grown so much from the little girl I remembered. You were two years old when Ailwyn moved you all to Bimini. Lily wanted to just leave without letting us see you, but Ailwyn had a conscious and brought you to see us for the day. He told us he was sorry that he was taking you so far away, but he thought that it was for the best. He told us that we needed to start our lives too, that we shouldn't feel guilty about eventually starting our own family. Seeing you was always really hard on your mother and I had a hard time respecting my boundaries. I regretted it from the moment I signed the papers. I wanted you back but once you give your child up for adoption, you don't get to change your mind. You used to call me Lell. Any time we got to see you, you would climb up next to me at the piano and watch me play. When it was time for you to go home, you would always cry."

"Once you were gone, we never got to speak to you again. We never got to see pictures. We got a letter shortly after Charlie was born. It was from Ailwyn. He said that you had Yewbeam blood and Lily was terrified of you. He mentioned that some kind of witch doctor in Bimini was able to do something to help keep it hidden, but he was terrified that Lily wouldn't want you anymore. That's when you moved to California and I didn't hear anything again. A few more years passed and when you were six and Charlie was two, I met Mostyn Tolly. He had a little girl that the Bloors believed was endowed. She was Charlie's age. Two years old, the age I remembered you as. When I found out that he was going to give his daughter up, I tried to stop him. I told him that he would regret it every single day for the rest of his life if he didn't fight for her. When I got to the cathedral, it was already happening. I saw this little girl with beautiful blonde hair and I lost my temper. I shoved Ezekiel to the ground but by then, one of the twins had her. That is the last thing I remember. And here we are now, you're so grown up. You fought and killed an expert swordsman from another century. Infinity, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were so fast and moved so gracefully even after being hit."

"You…saw that?" I hadn't remembered the Red Knight being present during my fight with Ashkelan.

"I was ready to step in, but then I saw you on the bank so I backed off." He adjusted his arm a bit and grimaced. I wanted to do something for him, but I wasn't sure if I had the energy. "You are the most resilient person I think I have ever met and I am so proud of you. I know that Ailwyn was your father and I'll never replace him, but I promise you that I will be here for you until the day that I die. I will be the best father to you and Charlie that I can be."

"Everything that happened in the past doesn't matter anymore." I reassured him. "You don't have to beat yourself up. I have made my peace with the situation and don't harbor any resentment." I gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped back. "Please get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow."

Slowly, things around the city were beginning to be put back together. Grandma Bone had fled number nine and went to go live with her sisters. Alice Angel was able to begin putting her old house to rights. She sold her shop in Steppingstones and was going to stay in the city. Other people began to return to the city as well, including Zelda's parents. They behaved as though they had just left for an ordinary weekend away. The fog was forgotten and no one spoke of the battle that had happened. I wondered if any of that had to do with Salem and Senor Alvaro's influence.

Instead, everyone agreed that it was going to be a beautiful Easter and spoke of planning their dinners and attending services. The thick snow that had previously closed the roads and the school was nothing but a memory now. Daffodils and irises were already blooming in the gardens and the avenues were filled with cherry blossom trees.

The wild strangers that had invaded Piminy Street disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived. The street belonged to Katya once more and she was excited that now that the darkness of the city had vanished, more amiable neighbors would arrive. Her sword hung back in its place in the blacksmith shop and Solomon was able to roam the kettles once more.

To fill the emptiness that had come with Zelda and I returned to our own homes, she offered Dagbert a place to stay, which he had joyfully accepted. He had taken a shine to watching her craft beautiful metal objects and wanted to learn himself.

Not one student had attempted to go back to Bloor's Academy on Monday. Dad and Uncle Paton had finally made full recoveries (thanks to a few sweet kitties who had decided to give me a break) and returned to us Monday afternoon. Cook moved into Grandma Bone's room temporarily. Dad and mom made plans for us to move back into the old house on Diamond Corner as soon as possible. Salem was going to return to his grandfather's cabin as soon as he returned to the city. But before anyone else made too many plans, there was still one more mystery to clear up. Maybelle's box.

When the next day came, dad decided that Charlie, Uncle Paton, Salem and I were going to go up to the cathedral where dad was still the official organist after all of these years. We walked along the wide aisles and beautifully carved walls towards the great organ. "You sly dog." Salem chuckled as dad lifted the cushioned top of the organist's seat with a mischievous smile. Dad pulled out a tiny box inlaid with pearl. He passed it to Charlie first.

"How are we supposed to open this without a key?" Uncle Paton looked over Charlie's shoulder.

"We could force the lock, but the pattern would be destroyed in the process." Dad suggested.

"Are you really worried about the pattern?" I asked.

"Hey, it's a really nice box."

Charlie carefully turned the box and studied the intricate patterns. There were tiny stars, birds, leaves and flowerers carefully carved into the sides and then filled with mother-of-pearl. As he stared into the stars, I watched his eyes glaze over as they usually did when he traveled. We all watched in stunned silence.

"Charlie?" Dad finally spoke after a few minutes. He started to shake his arm to rouse him out of his stupor.

Charlie blinked and then held up his finger. "It was a cat." He turned the box over again and began to study it. Finally, he saw what he was looking for and pressed his finger into the pearl cat. The lid of the box clicked open carefully.

"Clever." I grinned and Charlie handed the wills over to me, as if I would know how to make sense of them. I sat on the floor and began to carefully unfold them, sorting them out and reading the names on the wills out loud. "Septimus Bloor left everything to his daughter Maybelle, and Maybelle left everything to her son, Daniel Raven. Daniel Raven left everything to his daughter Ita-"

"Ita?" Dad took the will from my hands and frowned. "Who on Earth is she? I thought Daniel left everything to his son Hugh, who gave the box to Billy's father to prove that he would inherit the Bloor estate."

I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. When I turned my head, Salem was nearly hovering over me and his smile nearly split his face in two. "Paton, do you have it?"

"I do. I want you all to come look at something." He led us down to the front pew, where we all sat on either side of Uncle Paton. He drew out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and flattened it on his knee. "This is what Salem and I have discovered."

I strained to lean over Charlie, whose hedge of a head was blocking my view of what looked like a vertical line with names. "I can't see, Charlie." I murmured.

"Don't worry. I can read it out loud." Dad chuckled. "Daniel's eldest child Ita married a man named Simon Bone. They had a son named Eamon, who married Clara Lyell." Dad looked back at me. "Clara and Eamon had a son named Montague Bone… " his voice trailed off as he began to understand the true weight of the words he spoke. "My father."

"Who left everything he owned to you." Paton finished.

We all sat in silence for a moment. I could hardly believe what we had just learned. I didn't know how to think or feel about it, until finally Salem began to laugh. It was a deep, throaty and real laugh. "This is the best outcome that I could have imagined. I can't wait to see the look on Ezekiel's face when he discovers that Bloor's academy belongs to Lyell Bone."

"Yes, but we have to prove it first." Dad frowned.


	49. Salem: Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem's POV

Chapter 49: Brother

Salem

The day after the wills were recovered and the proper owner of the Bloor fortune was discovered, Lyell and Paton took the box of papers to Lysander's father, Judge Sage. He was the wisest and most respected members of the judiciary and it didn't take him long to declare that Lyell Bone was the indisputable heir to Septimus Bloor's fortune. He would have to take the matter to court, of course, but the judge knew that the turn out would be in Lyell's favor.

"We'll have to warn the present owners of Bloor's Academy." Paton informed us when they returned home.

"I'm going." I said. It wasn't up for debate. If I couldn't get to Manfred now, then I would lose my brother forever. While he pushed boundaries and did awful things, Manfred deserved to live a life that he had control of, even if his feelings for Infinity bothered me.

"If Salem's going, then I want to go." Infinity butted in. And naturally, Charlie wanted to go as well. While he wasn't going to argue with me about going, Lyell didn't want to put his children in danger yet again. He considered the academy the "Seat of Evil" and if something were to happen to him, he wanted his children to inherit the fortune and take care of Amy.

Charlie argued that he was the one who opened the box and should be able to go. Infinity reminded him that she had held her own against an expert swordsman and it would take a lot more than whatever the Ezekiel had in store to take her down. Because his children were just as headstrong and stubborn as he was, Lyell finally agreed. "I'm warning both of you, no heroics and you have to do everything that I say."

They agreed, but I knew both of them well enough to know if something went wrong, neither of them would listen. We left the house in the early evening, just before the streetlights came on. Together, we walked through the city and up the steep road where the deathly silent academy sat. When we approached the square, a black car drove out. It stopped a moment before turning onto High Street. I could barely make out the figures in the car, but Charlie seemed to see them well. "It's Weedon and his wife. I think Norton and Joshua too."

"And his mother, most likely." Paton chimed in.

"Rats and a sinking ship come to mind," Lyell said drily.

Weedon had not bothered to close the academy doors behind him in his hasty retreat. We walked into the shadowy hallway and a cold chill traveled up my spine. Although the academy always had an uncomfortable and dark vibe to it, today was worse. It was truly a seat of evil and the cause of all of that evil was sitting in his wheelchair, staring down at us from the landing at the top of the staircase. Almost as if he was suspecting us.

"How dare you come back here, you traitor. You're a coward and a fool." His beady eyes stopped on me, his bony face turned up in disgust. Ever since I was a child, I could remember hating Ezekiel. He never had much interest in me, though. Not when Manfred could be easily influenced by his dark magic. While my endowment was overpowered, Manfred took to learning magic much easier than I did. I saw the same thing happening in Charlie and Infinity too. Infinity was strong, but Charlie could easily surpass her if he put in a little bit more effort.

"How am I a fool when I am on the winning side?" I said through gritted teeth. Ezekiel was always quick to insult us. Manfred was always a coward and my dreams were always foolish, but why had we been stuck doing his dirty work while he sulked in the shadows? No one was more spineless and out of touch with reality than Ezekiel Bloor. "We have the will, you wicked old codger. It's over."

"Do you really believe that you'll be successful?" Ezekiel grinned, showing of a row of cracked and black teeth. "Do you think that you can defeat your brother? That the girl will let you?" He turned his gaze to Infinity and I felt sick to my stomach. I wondered if Infinity would be able to stand up against him if the situation called for it. She had a breakthrough with him and she had gotten a glimpse of the brother that I knew. Part of me worried that she wouldn't want to let that go, and part of me worried that if we were successful in helping him that she would fall in love with him instead. They had a lot more in common than she and I did. They were both incredibly intelligent and serious. Any dreams and goals that Manfred would hold would align with Infinity's a lot better than mine. But that didn't mean that I wanted to let her go. "We're not going anywhere and Manfred is going to make sure of that. If you take even one more step, he's going to burn this place to the ground." Ezekiel warned.

At these words, Manfred walked out from the shadow behind the stairs. He held up one of his hands and showed us a ball of fire that slowly cackled and turned at the base of his palm. "Don't come any closer." He warned, his eyes trained on me. At last, Borlath's awful power had fully materialized itself in Manfred. People with multiple endowments were rare and a force to be reckoned with, but we had Charlie to match him.

"You don't have to do this." I pleaded with him. "You're not a bad person, Manny. This isn't you. There's good inside of you. I know it, and Infinity saw it too."

"If you don't shut the fuck up, I'll burn this place to the ground anyway." The calm ball of fire started to leap into high, dangerous flames as his mood changed.

 _ **Ezekiel needs to die if we want to help Manfred.**_ I informed Lyell. I didn't want the death of someone to be on the hands of Charlie or Infinity, but I knew that Lyell wouldn't be opposed to the solution.

I glanced at the wheelchair balanced at the top of the stairs. A gentle push could send it flying. I, however, wasn't gifted with telekinesis, nor could I produce wind. But somehow, it happened anyway. One moment, Ezekiel was stationary at the top of the stairs, the next, he was moving at lethal speeds and his body was flung through the air.

"Salem, move!"

Everything was happening so quickly, I didn't know how to process it. I stood directly in the path of the out of control wheelchair and Ezekiel's skeletal body. In a swift motion, Manfred shoved me out of the way and instead, he was struck. I heard the clanking of metal and something crack as Ezekiel's skull hit the floor. From the top of the stairs, I heard the sound of Percy's joyful barking. As long as Percy has been in our family, my father would always make the joke that someday Percy would get sick of him and push him down the attic stairs. It seemed that he was right, but I didn't care about that right now. Manfred had saved my life in a split second decision and may have lost his own. I shifted Ezekiel's dead weight out of the way while Lyell pulled up the gnarled wheelchair. Manfred lay un-moving under the heap. Nothing looked broken but there were a few scrapes and cuts. Infinity dropped down on the floor beside him with sheer panic on her face. She looked up at Lyell for guidance.

"You shouldn't touch him." My father warned us. "If there's a spinal injury, you could make it worse."

"But I could heal him." She said. I stared at her hands. Like they always did when she used her healing powers, they glowed a magnificent bright white. She hesitated for a moment, waiting to see the subtle rise and fall of Manfred's chest. If he broke his neck and died instantly, her endowment would be useless.

"He's breathing." Paton noted. That was all Infinity needed.

I loved watching her use her magic. Something about it was so graceful and beautiful, the way her hands carefully caressed his face and the calm that washed over all of our bodies as she worked. Being on the receiving end of her healing hands always made me feel like I was floating on air and I loved every second of it.

"It's working." Charlie crouched down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. "Do you think with Ezekiel gone, he'll be nicer?"

"Manny was never actually nice. Not like you or your friends are. He has always been a little rough around the edges." I admitted. "He's still going to be every bit as domineering and his temper will still be shit, but he won't be a murderous, abusive psychopath."

When Infinity did all that she could for him, she moved back a few inches and waited. Slowly, Manfred's eyes fluttered open and he struggled to sit up. He looked around at all of us with confusion contorting his face. "What is going on?" He asked. He finally noticed Ezekiel's body on the floor and quickly scooted away from it, nearly knocking Charlie over. "Sorry." He mumbled absently.

"Oh my God, it worked." Infinity breathed a sigh of relief. "He just apologized. To _Charlie_."

"Are you okay? Do you know what just happened?" I asked him before offering my hand. I pulled him to his feet and he seemed to be steady enough. His eyes didn't hold the anger and malice that they did before. His features had softened a bit. He didn't speak to me, instead he pulled me into a tight hug. I couldn't remember the last time I had hugged my brother. It had been many years and I felt a happiness I hadn't felt in a long time.

"So it has finally been done." My father's powerful voice carried through the corridors. When Manfred and I broke apart, I noticed him standing by the entrance to the west wing. He gingerly approached us, taking care to step over Ezekiel's body but didn't even glance at it. "Grandfather is dead and the will has been found."

"I take it that you won't give me any trouble?" Lyell suspiciously raised a brow.

"Why would I? This place has been a prison my entire life. Ezekiel made me do terrible things. I hurt my wife, I let him do the same thing to my sons. I think it will do us some good to get away from this place." He held his hand out to Lyell, who didn't hesitate to shake it.

The court case was a civil one, and through Lyell's mercy and benevolent heart, he allowed my father and Manfred to keep one of the properties in the city. The Passing House, the place where Billy had been kept prisoner by the de Grey family, would become their new home. When Bartholomew, Meng and Naren returned from the sea, they agreed to meet with them. Pap wanted to judge for himself if my father had really changed. I was surprised when the first thing my Pap did was apologize. He was the first to admit that like any Bloor, he was selfish. He had chosen to go and travel the world and left his son with his father, knowing the awful person that he was.

I agreed to move back in with my father and my brother, even if it was to make sure that they had genuinely changed and would no longer pose a threat to the Bones or the rest of the city. Infinity and her family were preparing to move back into Lyell and Amy's old house on Diamond Corner. Paton and Julia Ingledew were preparing to marry just before the Easter holiday.

Their wedding was a beautiful one. It was held in a small church just on the edge of the city. It was a beautiful ceremony and people were packed to the door. After all of the festivities were over, the newlyweds went to live above their candlelit bookstore, where Paton adopted Emma.

Billy remained unaware of how close he came to inheriting the Bloor fortune. While the Bones were busy trying to move everything into their finished home, the poor kid was passed around from family to family. I believed that the Gunns wanted to adopt him at one point, but it never went through. Instead, he was adopted by Lyell and Amy.

As for the academy, it had gotten a total face lift and a new name. The Bone Academy was transformed from a school that most students dreaded going to, into a safe haven for endowed children as well as creatively talented children. Lyell had zero interest in running the place and left that job to Dr. Saltweather. Senor Alvaro took over as head of music and the teachers that had made the place unbearable were quickly fired and replaced. Maisie had even come to work in the academy. Although she spent her weekends with her family, she ran the green kitchen with a smile and made all the students feel at home.

Asa and I were both allowed to come back to try to graduate and the atmosphere when we returned was completely different from the invisible cloud that had hung over us previously. During our time in the King's room, Infinity took over as our authority. Naturally, she forced us to take our studies seriously, but she also allowed us to speak with each other and help each other out with assignments.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I had a relatively normal life. We all did. And I had Lyell Bone and his stubborn children to thank.


	50. Happily Ever After

Chapter 50: Happily Ever After

On the day of my graduation ceremony, I was incredibly excited. Ever since I stepped foot in the academy doors for the first time, I feared that I wouldn't live to see the day. I had come close a few times but we had won in the end. Today, I would stand in front of all of my peers and do what Manfred had taken from me the year before.

Even though I tried like hell, I wasn't able to make up my grades to stay top of the class. Riley had bested me and while I had gotten used to being the best, I was happy that my friend would be the one who stood before us all to give his farewell speech. It was for the best, anyway. Riley had attended the academy for six years and people looked up to him and respected him. I was respected too, but because I was endowed and now my father was the owner of the academy, any people wouldn't be thrilled with me overshadowing them.

Before we left the house, Zelda made sure that not a single hair on my head was out of place and my make-up was just as perfect. Under my gown I wore a tight, sleeveless navy blue dress that came just above my knees and nude heels. Dad was already at the academy. Although he wasn't the headmaster, he still needed to speak at the ceremony and help set up. This left my mom, my brothers, Zelda and I to drive on our own.

"So, how awkward do you think it is going to be for Dr. Bloor and Manfred to be there?" Charlie asked the second we pulled away from the house.

I glanced back at Zelda in the rearview mirror as her cheeks tinted pink. She was back on speaking terms with Manfred and Salem believed that they were seeing each other again, although she hadn't admitted anything to me yet. It took a lot for her to swallow her pride and forgive him but I didn't expect them to try a relationship again, especially when they were both different people than they had been before.

"I think Dr. Bloor is grateful not to have that burden on him anymore." I said thoughtfully. Although he was no longer the headmaster of the academy, he was still a doctor of education and I felt wrong referring to him as Mr. Bloor or just Harold, even if he was my boyfriend's father. "I don't know how Manfred will feel, however."

"I think he'll be okay. It's the other students that will have strong feelings on the matter." Billy frowned. "While we have forgiven him and know that he was under Mr. Ezekiel's influence, the other students may not have. Manfred was never known as kind to them either."

"It's just one day. They'll survive." Zelda cleared her throat and turned her attention to the view outside of her window.

We arrived at the academy roughly around the same time that everyone else did. Zelda did one more check to make sure I looked acceptable before I donned my cap and gown and had to be separated from my family. Each graduating student had to wait in their designated coatroom until everyone had arrived and was seated.

There were sixteen of us in the music coatroom, including Salem and Riley. They had arrived before I did and Riley had been scolding Salem about not using a proper tie clip for the occasion. "All of those years of etiquette lessons and you haven't learned shite." I heard Riley grumble.

"We're wearing gowns for fuck sake. Who cares if I'm not wearing a tie clip?" Salem waved him away just as they both noticed my arrival. "Fashionably late, I see." He winked at me and planted a quick kiss on my forehead.

As usual, Salem's hair was a mussed, yet fashionable mess and through his opened gown I could tell that his shirt was slightly wrinkled. "I actually made sure my clothes were ironed and my hair was brushed before I left the house. That must be why I beat you here." I teased, trying to straighten out his white dress shirt in vain.

"Et tu, Brute? I'm wearing this stupid gown. Who cares what's underneath?"

"Amy will care when she wants to take pictures of her daughter's big day only to see that her boyfriend couldn't be assed to make an effort." Riley shook his head. "It's like you went through your hamper, did a sniff test, and then you were done."

"Seriously is that how we're going to spend this time? Bitching about my shirt?" Salem gave a frustrated sigh. "It's not even that bad but if it really bothers you that much, do some of your witchy shit on it."

"I heal people, not cloth." I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he would make such a stupid suggestion. "It's fine, Salem. Really. I just wish you would take things like this a little bit more seriously. It looks bad on Dr. Saltweather and my father-"

"Don't." Salem held up his hand. "I don't need this fucking lecture for the millionth time in my life. My father was the headmaster of this place before yours and I'll be damned if you sit here and tell me the same shit my father told me for years."

"You wouldn't be told if you took things seriously." I knew that I shouldn't provoke Salem but I was annoyed by his recent lack of ambition and refusal to take things seriously. Instead of fighting back, Salem walked away from us began to speak with another group of music students. I let out a frustrated and annoyed groan before turning back to Riley.

Not long after Salem started giving me the cold shoulder, Senor Alvaro came to round us all up and place us in alphabetical order, save for Riley, who would be first due to being head of the class. As for the rest of us, it was in order of Almodovar, Bloor, Bone, Elliott, Greene, Grissom, Lloyd, Moore, Parsons, Reid, Spenser, Stone, Sutton, Williams and Yates. We walked in a straight line down the hallway. The drama students were first. They would fill the seats in the back. The middle row was art. Music students were at the back of the line but would fill the front row of seats.

As we walked down the side of the auditorium I kept my head held high and stared straight ahead, which happened to be between Salem's shoulder blades. He still carried himself confidently despite mine and Riley's nagging. When we made it to our designated seats, we still had to stand to sing the anthem and school hymn. My father had left it mostly unchanged from when Septimus Bloor had his head of music write it, other than the obvious "Bloor's Academy" parts.

We all sat and Dr. Saltweather welcomed everyone to the ceremony. Afterwards, my dad gave a small speech about we were the first class to graduate under the newly named Bone Academy. I glanced over at Salem throughout the speech but he didn't acknowledge me once. He stared idly at the crowd and occasionally over at my father. Riley's speech came next and although I knew he worked hard on it, I hardly paid attention. I wasn't excited about this day anymore, not after I had hurt Salem's feelings as badly as I did.

After an hour of everyone speaking altogether, they began to hand our certificates from the back row to the front. One by one, each student stood to their feet and shook Dr. Saltweather's hand, my father's hand, and each department head's hand before returning to their seats. When my name was called, I quietly stood to my feet and shook Dr. Saltweather's hand. When I went to shake my father's, he hugged me instead. I didn't mind, as his face was full of pride. I went down the line and shook the hands of Senor Alvaro, Mrs. Marlowe, and Mr. Sparks.

Once everyone had their diplomas and the farewell address was finished, we walked single file out of the auditorium where our families would be dismissed to find us in the courtyard. Riley had been whisked away for pictures with his family and I didn't know where Salem went off to. I met up with Asa by the ruins. His mother hated the public and refused to be seen around people so Mr. and Mrs. Onimous came in her place. Asa's mother worked with Mrs. Onimous in the kitchen and in return, gave them a place to stay after a generous donation from a certain benefactor allowed them to update and build an addition onto the older building.

"You don't look as happy as I thought you would." Asa noted as we waited for our families. He crossed his arms and his golden eyes surveyed the distance.

"I pissed Salem off before the ceremony and now he won't talk to me." I sighed.

"Does it have anything to do with your overwhelming desire to be right all the time and get the last word in?" When I didn't answer his question, he chuckled. "You two will get it right eventually. You're so different from each other so you're going to be stepping on each other's toes for a while, but you'll make it through. You're good for each other." He carefully patted me on the back and gave me a sincere smile. It was nice seeing Asa live a happy and relatively normal life. He was still trying to figure himself out, but he seemed to make more progress every day. As we made small talk, I watched his expression darken and an involuntary growl resonated from the back of his throat. I only knew of one person who could still draw that primal anger from him. I turned my head to see Manfred walking towards us. "I'll speak with you later." Asa murmured before sulking off. While he was working on forgiving Manfred, it was hard to get over someone physically torturing you and being indirectly responsible for the mob of idiot townspeople that had your father killed. Asa made great progress every day, but this was a hurdle he struggled to jump.

"I apologize for scaring off your company, but have you seen Salem anywhere?" Manfred asked me as he approached.

"I upset him before the ceremony and now he's avoiding me." I shamefully admitted.

"Oh." He awkwardly shifted his weight to his other foot and looked around. "I'm sure it will sort itself out." While he was trying to be comforting, he was still Manfred Bloor and somethings were still strange to him.

"I don't know. I guess I opened some old wounds and it really upset him. He doesn't get that angry at me often but I really struck a nerve with him. It was a petty argument and I should have let it go. Do you want to help me find him? My dad is still inside rubbing elbows with all of the people who haven't gotten to meet the new owner and god knows where my brothers have run off to."

"Yeah, sure." He agreed.

"I appreciate it. Do you know where Zelda is?" I asked.

It was an innocent question but it was enough to get Manfred embarrassed and annoyed. "How the hell should I know?"

"I'm actually kind of offended you two are putting on such an act as if I don't really know what is going on between you two. I am Zelda's best friend, after all. I should know what is going on in her life. Actually, I would like to think of you and I as friends by now too."

"Pff." Manfred rolled his eyes and scoffed at me, but I could see him fighting back a smirk. "Look, it's not really anything at the moment. We're trying to figure out if we can get passed all of the old things that happened. Not everyone forgives as easily as you and Charlie do. Now come on, She is over by the doors and maybe she can help us find Salem too."

"I thought you didn't know where She was?" I raised an eyebrow at him and couldn't help but giggle at how flustered he was getting.

"You're a pain. Let's go." He thoughtlessly grabbed my wrist and led me towards the large academy doors. Just before we got there, someone intercepted us. It was Fiona Spenser, one of the more cheerful prefects I had gotten to know in my time in the academy.

"Infinity! Is everything okay?" She eyed Manfred warily and he quickly let me go, refusing to meet her watchful gaze.

"Ah." I glanced at Manfred and placed my hand on his arm to show Fiona that I wasn't afraid of him anymore. "I'm fine. We were just looking for Salem. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"I don't think he ever came outside. Maybe check the coatroom?"

"Thanks, we'll do that." I gave her my friendliest smile before dismissing myself. "I'm sure I'll see you later, Fiona."

"Of course. See you later, Infinity. Sir."

"Not sir." Manfred shook his head and corrected her. "Just Manfred. Have a good evening and congratulations."

We walked away from her and towards Zelda, who was leaning against the academy wall and watching everyone as they took pictures and shared happy faces. "What are you two up to?" She asked us.

"Looking for Salem. Fiona thinks he went back to the coatrooms. Do you…want to come with us?" Manfred rubbed the back of his neck and tried not to make eye contact with her too long. Not only was their body language giving them away, I could feel the tension myself. If Zelda didn't want to talk about it yet, I would give her the privacy she clearly wanted but I would admit that I was hurt that she wouldn't come to me about this.

"Actually, why don't you two keep looking for him out here? It shouldn't take me long to check the coatrooms and if I do find him, I'll come find you." I quickly excused myself and poked my head into the drama and art coatrooms first just to cover my bases. He wasn't there, so I looked in the music coatroom as well. When I glanced in, he was there. His back was turned to me and he was facing a mirror. I could see that he had changed into a different shirt and was adjusting his tie. His hair looked a bit neater and he ran a hand over his stubble. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

Even with a disheveled appearance I always thought Salem was handsome. Even though Manfred being away from dark magic made his appearance improve greatly and I found him handsome as well (they were twins after all), Salem carried himself in a completely different way that made him more attractive to me, even if he was a total mess sometimes. "Do I pass your inspection, Lady Bone?" He never turned to face me and his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry." I slowly approached him. I wanted to diffuse the situation, not instigate it more. "I shouldn't have said what I said. You were right. No one could see your shirt under the gown and you looked fine."

He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to me. "I should have paid more attention to what I was wearing before I left the Passing House. To be honest, I didn't even know it was wrinkled until Riley said something about it. Then he just kept going from there, bitching about the tie clip and my hair and whatever else. Then you arrived looking like…well, you. And I immediately felt guilty. I may have projected a bit."

"Where did you get the spare shirt?" I asked.

"Paton."

"You actually got Uncle Paton to come?" I was impressed. While Uncle Paton had wanted to attend the graduation ceremony, he had trouble with lights. Now that I looked around, I noticed that most of them had been turned off and the only light in the academy was the sunlight coming from the large latticed windows.

"I think he was planning on coming anyway, after all the fuss died down. I believe Lyell planned to have a dinner in the ballroom for the family. Candlelit, naturally." I watched him carefully roll up and button the sleeves of his shirt as he always did. He closed the distance between us and brushed a stray hair from my face. "I would kiss you if I didn't fear ruining Zelda's hard work. I don't understand why she insists on attending college when her talent is obviously here. Good make-up artists make good money."

"She likes doing it for fun but she really wants to become a mathematician." I shrugged. "You could probably kiss me anyway. Zelda says this stuff doesn't come off for anything." To show him, I ran a finger along my bottom lip and it didn't smudge. He smirked and carefully took my face into his hands. He kissed me in such a slow, careful way that my legs nearly forgot to hold me up.

"We should get back to everyone else." He murmured.

I reluctantly agreed and we returned to the courtyard where families were celebrating and snapping pictures. Ever since he embraced his endowment, Charlie found interest in photography and actually had a good eye for it. I watched from afar as he took photos of not only the happy graduates, but photos of people living their lives in general that always took my breath away. Dad had asked Charlie if he wished to be switched to the art department, but he didn't want to be separated from Fidelio. He also seemed to enjoy his lessons with Senor Alvaro and made great progress in just the last few months alone.

"The outcome of this is way better than I would have ever expected." Salem put his arm around my shoulder and pointed in the direction of Dr. Bloor and my dad. They were talking and both had smiles on their faces. Never in my life would I have expected to see such a thing. "Dad and Pap have a relationship again. Manny is actually content with his life. I think he'll win Zelda back. I think he and Asa will eventually repair their relationship as well. Asa and Manny were friends from the beginning, before the wickedness took them over."

It wasn't long before we were pulled into a whirlwind of pictures and being fussed over. When that was finally over and everyone else cleared out, the last of us were whisked into the ballroom where a large table was prepared for a feast. I glanced around at the attendees. Riley and his family had stayed, the Onimous' and Asa's mother had come, Uncle Paton, Aunt Julia and Emma, my parents and brothers, Maisie, Cook, Dr. Saltweather, Zelda, Manfred, Dr. Bloor, Bartholomew, Meng and Naren were there as well. Everyone basically sat where they wanted. I ended up between Asa and Salem. I noticed that Zelda had chosen a seat next to Manfred with Charlie on the other side of her. Riley was seated next to Salem.

Asa seemed to be uncomfortable with Manfred sitting in such close proximity but loosened up after a bit. "It's a shame that a lot of our memories together ended up being so bad." Manfred spoke, referring to Asa, Zelda, Salem and I. "I do plan to make up for it, even if it takes the rest of my life."

"You don't have to make up anything to me." Salem waved a hand at him and rolled his eyes. "You saved my life before that ancient bastard kicked the bucket."

Asa stared down at his plate and tried to suppress a frown. "What you did ultimately costed my father his life. Merromals choose partners for life. The loss devastated my mother more than anything. She'll have to spend the rest of her days alone. I haven't seen her really smile since the day that he died."

"Everyone did things they weren't proud of." Zelda cut in. "Every single one of us followed Ezekiel's orders to the letter. Have you forgotten about Leandra Duncan? Salem nearly succeeded in making everyone forget Lyell's face. Dagbert almost killed Tancred. I hurt a lot of people. Just because you broke from Ezekiel's influence faster than Manfred did doesn't mean that you're any better than him."

 _Who was Leandra Duncan?_ I silently asked Salem.

_**Leandra Duncan was an endowed fifth year who disappeared two years before you and Charlie came to the academy. She could see things that happened in the past. She was caught snooping around in the West Wing and Ezekiel was paranoid that she would figure out things that he didn't want her to know. We used to do a thing called the Ruin Game where they would hide a medal in the old ruins at night and whoever found it would be given immunity from receiving detentions for a year and various other prizes. Asa killed Leandra at Ezekiel's behest. All that was recovered was her cape. During the final ruin game, Charlie was supposed to be the victim. He would have succeeded if not for Lysander's intervention. He quickly explained to me. He still thinks about it a lot. He still feels guilty.** _

Asa didn't have a retort to Zelda's comment and an awkward silence followed. "If you don't want to forgive me, then no one is forcing you to. I can tell you I'm sorry every day for the rest of my life but I will never expect you to forgive me unless you want to." Manfred finally broke the painfully agonizing silence.

"I'll work on it, yeah?" Asa shrugged. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try."

For the rest of the night we tried to avoid heavy conversation and for the most part, succeeded. After talking things out a bit, Manfred and Asa seemed a lot more relaxed with each other although I knew they still had a long way to go. I was confident that everything would turn out well for them.

After dinner, Salem and I decided that we would walk back to Diamond Corner separate from everyone else. We rarely had time to spend together with final tests, university admissions and graduation and I was excited to be able to talk with him about things that wouldn't shape our entire future or involve putting ourselves in danger. We walked under the starry sky hand in hand. When the summer ended, I would have to leave him behind as I headed to college. We had survived more stressful separations than this and I knew we would be okay.

I no longer regretted coming to England, discovering my powers and being placed in the situations I had been forced to deal with. Ailwyn's death was still regrettable. I missed him often and wished that there would have been some other way. No one had been able to track down Lillian since she had dropped me off and walked out of my life but I thought that was for the best. It was only a matter of time before news reached her that we had come into money and she would come crawling back into our lives like the leech that she was. Someday, her choices would catch up to her.

I had earned my happiness and wouldn't allow my thoughts to be soiled by thinking of those who had wronged me. I had made progress, had grown into someone I never thought I could be. And that was enough for me. For the first time in my life, I had a loving mother and a father that was devoted to spending all of his time with his family. I had two pain in the ass little brothers who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I had close friends who cared about me as much as I did them. Friends that were so fiercely loyal that they risked their lives to fight for something that they strongly believed in. While the last year and a half of my life had been full of danger and peril, the results were worth it.

Dr. Bloor and Manfred were working towards helping make reparations to lives that had been previously ruined. A lot of us had lost parents due to the greed and selfishness that propelled Ezekiel forward. No one would be able to bring back what had been taken away from Billy, Emma, Asa or myself. No one would be able to fully fix all of the damage that would be done, but the process seemed to help both of them greatly.

"Hey, we were supposed to be taking this walk to clear your head and spend time together. Your thoughts are going a million miles an hour and it's making me dizzy." Salem wrapped a long arm around my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I'll ever stop overthinking." I sighed. "I want this to be our happily ever after. Thinks turned out fantastic for most of us, but a lot of people are still suffering. If I think about it, I know that your father and brother are thinking about it too. I know that you're thinking about it. Some of us lost our parents, some lost their children. Some lost everything they ever owned."

"That's something that we all have to work through dealing with on our own. It has only been a few months. The pain won't just go away. It still eats at all of us. I still feel guilt for the things I have done. There isn't a single day that doesn't go by that Asa doesn't think about the lives he took. Zelda tries to push the thoughts away and cope by keeping herself busy. Manfred is on medication and is in therapy. And you, you try to fix everything but you can't." He glanced over at me and planted a quick kiss on my temple. "We all just have to keep going. And as long as we stay vigilant and work together, we can keep things from getting that bad ever again."

We came to a stop in front of Diamond Corner. I looked back at the large brick house, then back at Salem before finally resigning myself to smile despite the grim topic at hand. "We just have to keep going." I repeated. We shared a quick kiss before joining my parents and brothers in the house behind us.


End file.
